how that Fruit shall grow without the Influence of the Root Unless you will say a Branch out of Christ can bring forth Fruit. I will not undertake to tell how long the Union made by the Spirit is before Faith appear but I am sure Faith cannot so much as arise into the first Act without the Sinners Union and Spiritual Communion so far as to have from the Root but as to his active and apprehended Union it can't be before Faith Neonom You think because all Grace after Vnion comes from Christ as our actual Head therefore Christ by his Spirit can work no Grace in us as our designed Head Antinom I know not how you put that Paradox upon me or what you mean by it very well I can but guess at it by your other Notions all that I can say to it is that Christ works Grace as our Actual Head That Christ Works Grace in us as a designed Head is a Riddle for so Grace must be wrought in us before we are in Christ Neonom You think because God Soveraignly decreed what Benefits he would bestow therefore he hath as our Ruler stated no rectoral Method of bestowing those Benefits Antinom I never thought God to be any other than a God of Order and that he is wise in all his ways and holy in all his Works and always thought that as God hath decreed to us all Covenant-Blessings so he hath provided the best method and way for bestowing them most to the Honour and Glory of his Free-Grace Neonom Because the Covenant is everlasting as to future therefore you judge there can be no Condition on man's part nor remembring that the Covenant secures our perseverance in performing those Conditions Antinom Because the Cnvenant is eternal before the World began I judge it was compleat and that the Condition was as ancient as the Covenant and the Security both in Condition and Promise as ancient Neonom Dr. O. in his Treatise of Justification p. 264. saith That Christ undertook that those who were to be taken into this Covenant should receive Grace enabling them to comply with the Terms of it fulfill it's Conditions and yield Obedience which God required therein How frequently doth he assert That our Interest in the Benefits of the Covenant depends on our Answering the Terms of the Gospel 270 30◠351. And so Mr. Norton Calvin Dr. Owen shews what Christ undertook as Sponsor Praes Fidejussor 1. To answer for all the Sins of those who are to be and are made Partakers of the Benefits of it 2. That those who are to be taken into Covenant by their Actual embracing it should receive Grace enabling them and whatever Christ undertook God promised and this Grace of Compliance is no other than what Christ procured undertook and God promised To say that the Promises are Conditions one of another is to say no more than that they stand in an order of Application and i◠a constituted relation one to another And these are all the Terms the Doctor means and that he doth mean so and not in your Sence is manifest by noting other Notions of these things two of which he rehearseth wherein I am sure your Notion is comprized at length and breadth He tells us what some say we owe to the Death of Christ the Procuratum of the New Covenant and that he suffered what God appointed he should not that the Justice of God required any such thing c. as in their stead but what by a free Constitution of Divine Wisdom and Soveraignty was appointed and hereon God remitted the Terms of the Old Covenant and entred into a New Covenant suited unto Reason c. These are Faith and sincere Obedience c. Others say The whole Righteousness of Christ is imputed to us so far as that we are made Partakers of the Benefits thereof And that the way of the Communication of them unto us is by the New Covenant which by his Death the Lord Christ procured For the Conditions of the Covenant are establisted in the Covenant it self whereon God will bestow all the Benefits and Effects of it upon us which are Faith and Obedience Wherefore what the Lord Christ hath done for us is thus far accepted as our Legal Righteousdess as that God upon our Faith and Obedience with respect thereunto doth release and pardon all our Sins Upon this Pardon there is no need of any positive perfect Righteousness unto our Justification or Salvation but our own personal Righteousness is accepted with God in the room of it by vertue of the New Covenant which Christ hath procured So is the Doctrine hereof stated by Cursellaeus and those that joyn with and follow him as I take it you do This Doctrine he refutes As for what you quote from Mr. Norton Orth. Evang. p. 172. it 's not to the purpose His Design is to prove the Gospel is preach'd in an Indefinite Proposition which is not to our purpose you quote Mr. Norton in the wrong place Look ch 10. p. 227. The Application both of Grace and Glory and all the good of the Covenant of Grace are free to us though conditioned unto Christ Free Grace excludes not Christ's Merit but Man's Merit Obj. Faith is a Condition though not of it self yet of Salvation and that in the Elect themselves Therefore the Application of Salvation seems not to be free in respect of the Elect. A. A Condition is either a Condition properly so called i. e. an Antecedent Condition or a Condition improperly so called i. e. a Consequent Condition A Condition properly so called is a Law or Observation annexed to a business the performance whereof lyeth upon the Covenant and accordingly the business becomes valid or null Such a Condition was Works in the first Covenant If Faith were such a Condition there would soon be an end of the Covenant of Grace yea the Covenant of Grace were indeed no Covenant of Grace A Condition improperly so called or a consequent Condition is such a Condition whose performance by the Covenantee is absolutely undertaken for and irresistibly wrought by the Covenanter and not left in Suspence upon the Covenantee to be performed by his own strength Faith is a consequent Condition not an antecedent Condition So as this Proposition I will give Eternal Life to the Elect if they believe is equivalent unto this I will out of my absolute Will give unto the Elect Eternal Life because I will out of my absolute Will give unto the Elect to believe Particula si 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 si feceris hoc vives Particula si non est 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 sed 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in si credideris Buc. loc 21. q. 3. Obj. Repentance and new Obedience are necessary to Salvation Luke 13.3 Heb. 3.13 Therefore the Application of the good of Election is not to be free in respect of us A. Good Works which is also true Repentance are necessary as the way appointed of
DEFENDED AND THE New Gospel UNMASK'D TWO Gentlemen who had for their Recreation walk'd forth into the Fields in Vtopia happened to fall into Company together and after mutual Salutation and general Discourses of News having not as yet a particular Acquaintance or Knowledge one of another one of them among many things mentioned by him that were great ground of Sadness to a considering and gracious Mind said He was most affected with and grieved at the great Eclipse fallen of late upon the Doctrine of the Gospel insomuch that for the Doctrine of Justification especially we are in a manner returned again into Egypt that of Justification by Works being brought into the room of Justification by Faith and only varnish'd over with the Profession of the Protestant Religion and the change of a few Terms which are used to the same purpose that the former were The other Gentleman look'd hard upon him while he thus spake and said Have you seen a Book lately come forth called Gospel-Truth Stated and Vindicated It 's a Book much talked of and commended Yes Sir said the other I have seen the Book and read most of it but I will assure you I was much grieved at the reading of it I pray your Reasons He replyed Pray Sir excuse me there The other return'd I begin to have some Apprehensions what your Principles are I find you are an Antinomian I pray what is your Name I crave your Excuse Sir you have given me a Name you may call me by that or what you please for by this I do as well ken you For I know of what Principles those Men are of that are so ready to asperse the Asserters of the Doctrine of Free-Grace with the Reproachful Name of Antinomians the true Account of which Sect and most ancient is from the Apostle Paul's time that they took occasion from the Doctrine of Free-Grace to plead for and practise all manner of Licentiousness Hoc anno prodiit Secta eorum qui dicuntur Antinomi Sleid. com l. 12. fol. 199. And in Sleiden we have an Account of a Sect of Libertines or Carnal Gospellers which brake out in Germany after the Reformation circ An. 1538. the Ring-leader whereof was Islebius Agricola the Compiler of the Interim They merited this Name of Antinomians by the loose Opinions and looser Practices against whom Luther wrote several Books and Calvin also with great Invectives in his Instr advers Libertin Which were Learned and eminent Witnesses to the Doctrine of Free Grace as it ought to be held forth in all its Gospel-Splendor and Lustre The other Gentleman replied As for Luther he was an Antinomian himself and Calvin but a little better according to the Opinion of our Modern Divines We say they are Antinomians that deny Justification to be by Faith as a conditional receiving Act and by Repentance as a qualifying Act and that the continuation of our Justification is by Works These Men which you name and their Followers indeed pretend to Holiness but they ascribe not that to it which they ought for the Honour of God's Rectoral Rule of Government Antinomian If these be the Men you call Antinomians they are falsely so called I think they that come nearest to the Doctrine of our Lord Jesus Christ and his Apostles are the most Orthodox and I know no such Doctrine that they have taught but contrary to what you call Orthodox you seem to be of the Sect-truly call'd Neonomians because they assert That the Gospel is a new Law the Condition whereof is imperfect sincere persevering Obedience which I take to be no other than a Covenant of Works Neonom I am indeed of that Opinion and my Scheme is according thereunto I say the Covenant of Grace is a conditional Covenant and the Condition of it is sincere Obedience in Faith and other Graces and Duties persevered in But I say not that we are Justifyed by the Covenant of Works the Law of Innocency that is Abrogated transiit in Sentontiam but that Christ hath in satisfying that Law merited another with milder Terms and Conditions viz. of Imperfect Obedience Antinom I perceive then that you are the Antinomian indeed for you set aside the Old Law as Obsolete and Abrogated and of no use to us at all For the Apostle Paul saith The Promise is not against the Law but it doth establish it Neonom i. e. It doth establish the New Law not the Old we are for a Law and Justification by it tho' not for the Old For Paul still opposeth the Law of Faith and the Works of that Law to the Old Law i. e. The Law of Perfect Obedience You must not confound one with another That was a Law of Perfection this of Imperfection I have stated the difference between Truth and Error in these matters Antinom Now you say you have stated the Difference I begin to suspect you to be the Author of that Book lately come forth called Gospel-Truth Stated and Vindicated For that Gentleman pretends to a singular Dexterity in stating Questions and Superlative Nicety even to the splitting a Hair between Truth and Error and I perceive divers Divines do esteem him a Cuminopristes that way by the Commendation they have given him and the Recommendation of his Treatise Neonom Truly it is no more than what it deserves not to say any thing of the Author who I know how unworthy soever he thinks himself to be yet hath no greater Ambition than to remove Mistakes from Men's Minds about Gospel-Truths of which there are many even among honest well-meaning Divines as well as others who are too much unstudied in these matters and therefore frequently utter their crude and undigested Conceptions in the Pulpit and Press too and as he would reach forth light to them so he would be Malleus Hereticorum Antinom My thinks I am the more confirmed by this that you your self were the Author Are you Mr. D. W Neonom I was either the Author or will personate him so far as to defend the Book if any one hath any thing to say against it I must confess D. W. Pref. p. 1. a dislike of Contention hath long restrained my engaging in this Work Antinom I doubt too much of the contrary appears in that Book or else the Author would never have raked up the Ashes of an Holy Man that hath been so long at rest to contend with and spurn them about with his Foot in so much Scorn and Contempt Neonom I have been oft solicited to this Work by many able Ministers Antinom Because they look'd upon you as the ablest as you seem willing to be thought I perceive now I be not mistaken Neonom But finding what Principles you are of I know you are mistaken in many things which I shall rectifie you in if you have Patience and Will to hearken to me Do but read my Book and consider it well Peace is the Blessing which I chearfully pursue and it with the Truth
can be nothing abated in the Sanction it must be Life or Death Ergo There 's the same Law still and we must be saved by the Covenant of Works or not at all But 3. The Reason you give of changing the Sanction is because the Blessings are promised to lower Degrees of Duty This as I said is no Change in the Promise but in the Condition and then see how you contradict your self in the same Breath You say there 's nothing abated in the Rule and yet lower Degrees of Duty admitted How can these Lower Degrees be admitted but by the Rule of the preceptive part For the Degrees of Duty required are according to God's Commands and he requires in a Law Duty answering the Perfection of the Precept Neonom And a Continuance in a State of Death with a Barr to the Blessing are not threatned against every Degree of Sin as the Covenant of Works did Antinom This is not Sence as express'd But I take your Meaning 1. Death was threatned in the Covenant of Works but it spake not of a continuance in that State with any such Barr to a Blessing as should hinder God from the saving of Sinners But you own that Barr might be removed and was but your Covenant puts as great a Barr as that That if Men perform not the Condition they must continue in the state of Death notwithstanding all that Christ hath done to remove the Barr from the Old Covenant For their Concernment in your Sence is not now for a Righteousness to answer that but to answer the New Law which lays them under Life or Death 2. Is the Condition the same and more And the Sanction the same How is it possible it should not threaten Death to every Degree of Sin 3. It seems our Salvation is according to the Degree of Sin We must know what Sins are of such a Degree as that they are pardonable what Venial and what Mortal and if Law and Gospel are distinguished by the Degrees of Sin Gospel lies in Sin not Grace it seems for if it be from the Degree of Sin that we are saved then not from the Blood of Christ which taketh away all Sin 4. Doth God's Law admit of Sin in any Degree then I say as the Apostle saith Is the Law Sin To admit of Sin into Law is Sin No the Law is Holy Just and Good and the Promise doth not make void the Law by abating one Jot or Tittle of it but establisheth the Law Therefore the Law cannot admit of Sin Neonom Can any doubt this to be the Grace of the Gospel-Promise Antinom Yea I do not only doubt it but know and do testifie to the World according to the Grace of God given to me That it is not the Grace of the Gospel-Promise Neonom Doth it promise Life to all Men however vile and impenitent they be Antinom It promiseth and giveth Life to the vilest and most impenitent Sinners Where Grace gives Life it supposeth Men dead and not alive For Repentance is part of the Life given and to talk of giving Life to penitent Sinners is to suppose them alive before Life is given but it doth not suppose that where Christ gives Life the vilest Sinners shall remain so or impenitent Neonom Or doth it threaten Damnation or a continuance of it unto any true penitent believing Godly Man because he is Imperfect Antinom Let a Man pretend himself or be look'd upon to be never so penitent believing and Godly and seek to be justified and saved by his Works I mean such as you mention Moral Obedience Acts of Faith Penitency c. I affirm thereby he is fallen from Grace Gal. 5.4 Being fallen short of the Righteousness of God Rom. 10. And as he puts himself under a Law for Justification so a Law condemns for imperfect Obedience For I roundly assert That no Law of God with a Sanction of Life and Death upon Performance or Non-performance of Obedience doth admit of the least Imperfection in the said Obedience Therefore such are under the Curse for their Imperfections Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things And I say if your Gospel be a Law it doth denounce Damnation to the Holiest and most Godly Man upon Earth Neonom This Change of the Sanction supposeth the Death of Christ and his honouring his Law by his perfect Obedience wherein God hath provided for his own Glory while he promiseth Forgiveness to imperfect Man Antinom I have proved the Sanction is not changed But in your Law it seems the Condition is changed It was in the Old Law Perfect Obedience in the New it's Imperfect Verily it is changed for the worse for Imperfect is worse than Perfect But how comes this to pass God hath provided for his own Glory in Christ that saving of Men is upon the Conditions of Imperfect Obedience i. e. by a worse Law an unholy and unjust Law might not turn to his Dishonour God hath provided for himself you mean seeing he rashly made such a Law as he finds will not answer his Ends Justice shall have it's due in his Son and then he shall be at liberty to make a Law with such easie imperfect and sinful Conditions that Sinners may be saved Is not this admirable Stuff for Gospel Neonom And yet he insists upon some Degrees of Obedience unto which of his meer Grace he enables us Antinom He could by his Grace as well enable us to Perfect Obedience if it were for his Honour that Obedience should be the Condition But doth it make it make it ever the less a Covenant of Works Doth what you say make it of Grace For 1. Forgiveness that 's but the Reward of Life But you 'll say it 's for the sake of Christ well that 's but in respect of the Old Law that it may not condemn you whereby you are come into a capacity to stand again for Life upon new Conditions 2. You say it 's to imperfect Man But is it not the same thing to save by Perfect or Imperfect Works so Works be the Condition 3. What if Grace enables them This alters not the Case Did not God give Adam his Holiness before the Fall and enable him to do what he did Neonom This the Covenant of Redemption secures to the Elect tho' the Grant therein is pleadable only by Christ as the Stipulating Party for us Antinom As for your Notion that your Covenant of Redemption is Distinct from the Covenant of Grace I deny it and shall hereafter make it appear that the Covenant of Grace and Redemption is one and the same Covenant And for the present I tax you for saying That the Covenant of Redemption is pleadable by none but Christ Do we never plead Redemption nor the Promise made in Christ nor Christ himself What is all in the Covenant of Redemption Do we not plead it daily And what Christ stipulated in this Covenant for us may we not plead it Is not
Promises And how can any Man conform to the Precept in your Sence and not expect and have from thence the Use of the Benefits Yea and not look upon it as Federally following therefrom 4. I would fain know what gave the Use of the Benefit in the Covenant of Works For you say this determines the Rules of Happiness and Misery in the same manner Was not the Use of Adam's Faederal Holiness as to Happiness from Conformity to the Precept Where was the Rule of the Promise there Either it must be in the Precept or the Promise it self or in the Connexion of Promise and Precept Have I hit it now It 's sure the Connexion is the Rule of the Promise Now how is that a Rule of the Promise but in Conformity to the Precept and then it 's Conformity to the Rule of Precept and not of Promise Or is it possible to come with a Conformity to the Connexion between the Precept and Promise Now all the Intricate Harangue is only to tell us in the Clouds that Faith applying the Lord Jesus Christ will not justifie us but as it is a working Condition to which the Promise is annexed Neonom Yes it follows our applying Christ's Righteousness and relying on it would no more justifie us than our sincere Holiness would save us were it not for this Gospel-Promise That God will justifie for Christ's sake all those that believe Antinom The Business here that is the Kernel of this Nut is that Faith doth not Justifie us by applying Christ's Righteousness in the Promise by vertue of Christ's Righteousness it self imputed but by its own Vertue as being a Righteousness it self whereby it answers the Promise as a Condition upon which it is made As for Faith's receiving Christ and his Righteousness it serves thereby to barr the Old Law But Christ's Righteousness hath nothing to do here it 's our own Faith and Repentance is the Righteousness in their Conformity to the Rule of the Promise and that 's Latin for the New Law Here are great Mysteries more than Paul understood and all the Apostles any other than to reckon them another Gospel and vain talking And truly as for your comparing Christ and Holiness in the matter of Justification under the Umbrage of your Invented Rule of Promise is perfect Stuff It amounts but to this at best That if God had not promised Justification there had been none at all neither by Christ's Righteousness nor by ours But how came this Promise Do you not say Christ purchased it as an conditional Grant Neonom Hence by Gospel Grace there 's a great difference between imperfect Faith and utter Vnbelief between sincere Holiness and formal Profaneness or Wickedness true Love to God and prevailing Enmity c. By the Law of Works nothing was Holy but what was perfectly so c. But read the Bible if thou doubtest whether there is not a true Faith Holiness Love c. which be short of Perfection Antinom I thought we should have had a greater Instance of the Grace of God than in giving us a worse Condition of the Covenant than Adam had You should have told us what Perfection here you mean I suppose it must be only of Parts that it may be a Gospel Foederal Condition which must be imperfect and it must be mingled with Sin or else it will not answer the Rule of the Promise Now you will not allow it must answer the Rule of the Precept for there 's nothing abated of it but it must chop in between the Precept and Promise as the Gospel Condition in a way of Imperfection So that without Sin our Holiness is nothing Foederally We must take heed it become not perfect Holiness for if once it comes to that we fall under the Law of Works This were to begin in the Spirit of Imperfection and end in the Flesh of Perfect Holiness And this is the sad Condition of the Saints in Heaven that they are fallen under the Covenant of Works Again you do here not a little insinuate what I know lies in your Breast that there is no specifick difference between Grace and meer moral Endowments and it appears so upon all your Hypotheses For you declare there ought to be such and such Qualifications to entitle a Man to the Promise of Grace or Grace in the Promise before he hath the Promise And as to your Exhortation to the reading of the Bible c. I must tell you I have read the Bible several times and hope to read it and meditate on the Word of Grace contained therein as long as I live But if that be the true Doctrine of the Gospel which you have delivered in this Book I am utterly at a loss for my Salvation which I would be loth to be now at last after so many Years Satisfaction And let the World take notice that I do believe your Gospel to be another Gospel such as Paul speaks of and accurseth Gal. 1.8 9. Neonom God in dispensing of Gospel-promised Blessings doth judicially determine a Conformity to this Rule of the Promise When he forgives he judicially declares a Man hath true Faith When he admits into Heaven he judicially declares a Man sincerely holy and persevering Antinom This is plainly as much as to say God dispenseth the Gospel-Promise Judicially in the same way as a Law of Works He looks whether or no we have fully performed the Conditions and upon finding of them he judicially gives the Promise i. e. In a way of Reward to the Works performed Whether they be Perfect or Imperfect it 's no matter the Reward is of Debt and not of Grace And in this way Pardon is given upon Imperfect Faith and Repentance And thus Heaven is given Judicially for persevering Holiness Here 's not a bit of Enquiry whether they have Christ or no he is a Cypher in the matter of our Salvation No Papist can utter more gross Divinity But this is a strange way of Dispensation of Gospel-Benefits First to determine a Conformity to the Rule of the Benefit As for Example In dispensing Faith for that 's a Promise God determins judicially a Man hath a Conformity to the Rule before Faith Again Is Forgiveness a judicial declaring a Man hath true Faith Or doth this judicial Declaration go before Pardon and Justification If so a Man hath always true Faith before he is justified and pardoned what absurd Consequences will follow thereupon And what can this be but a declared Judgment that he is de Congruo deserving Pardon And I think ex Condigno too before he is pardoned and upon the same Terms are the persevering Saints at last admitted to Glory Neonom As upon a View of his Guests he cast out him that had not the Wedding-Garment viz. True uniting Faith so by keeping out the Foolish Virgins c. Can any think that Forgiving Adopting Glorifying or the Conveyance of every other promised Benefit given upon God's Terms are not Judicial Acts
should not be cut off any more by the Waters of the Flood nor shall there be a Flood to destroy the Earth any more God laid Man under the performance of no condition to Entitle him to this Promise yea though he lay under a Forfeiture of all good things promised in the first Covenant and a Desert of all Calamity and Destruction and neither able or willing to enter into Covenant with God by the performance of any Duties yet God tyes himself that for that this kind of Destruction should no more come upon the Earth there was also the Covenant concerning the continuance of Day and Night and that the Seasons of the Year should be opportune regular and constant Gen. 8.22 To both these Covenants is the Covenant of Grace compared in respect of its Absoluteness and Perpetuity Isa 54.9 Jer. 33.25 The Promulgation thereof under the Old and New Testament are thence called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Covenants of Promise 3. Such a Covenant as this is a Testament which takes place among the most Entitling Covenants in the World The Apostle doth more than once speak of the Covenant of Grace by the Nature of a Testament which is the immutable purpose of God and suspendible upon no condition but as it were his last Will of bestowing Eternal Life upon the Elect which being built upon the unchangeable Counsel of God and hath its Sanction in the Death of Christ the Testator it can't be subverted by any Infidelity of the Elect neither it's firmness depend upon any Faith of man seeing in the said Covenant God hath provided unchangeably no less for their Faith than Salvation Wits de foed p. 195. whereby a Legacy is freely Bequeathed Entitling the Legatee to the Estate Bequeathed without any Duties or Conditions previous to the said Title by Bequeathment but the Estate Bequeathed by Will and Testament becomes due upon the Death of the Testator according to his free Constitution hence the Exhibition of the Covenant of Grace in the Old and New Dispensations are called Testaments because of their Absoluteness under whatever Vails of Conditions they seemed to be cloathed and because it was confirmed and become due by Death Typically under the Mosaical Dispensation by the Death of the Sacrifices but really by the Death of the Testator accomplished in the Gospel-Days And this was it's Sanction and the proper Sanction of a Testament 4. This Covenant is said to be absolute free and unconditional in respect of us that are saved by it because there was no Capacity Ability or Will in Man since the Fall to perform any Covenant-Conditions or Duties to God as such but he lay utterly condemned and dead in Sin All Salvation must come to him of Free Gift even Life whereby he might perform any vital Act for all Action is from Life and no Action can be before Life but must proceed from it Man in Innocency acted from Life in Innocency and that he should act before or without Life is most absurd to think or that in a state of Spiritual Death he should act for Life The natural Man can do neither before he can do any thing for God the Absolute Promise must be performed of giving him Resurrection from the Dead the new Birth the new Nature the new Heart So that the Covenant of Grace is considered as totally free and absolute as to the Tenure of and Performance relating unto Man in his lost and fallen estate and condition all the good contained in it relating to us by way of Promise and bestowed upon us by way of Free Gift even Faith and all Holiness Grace and Glory 5. But taking the Covenant of Grace or Promise in the full extent of it Foedus gratiae respectu Sponsoris magìs foederis notionem habet significationem pactum mutuae fidei 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 respectu nostri magis Testamenti rationem habet quasi 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 esse Witsas p. 597. de Foedere it is a mixt Covenant a conditional and absolute a Covenant of express Compact between two stipulating Parties upon propounded Terms and a Covenant of Promise wherein God hath freely given us his Son and in him Life eternal It is therefore to be considered as it respects Christ and as it respects the Elect in him 6. As it respects Christ it carries the Nature of an express compleat Covenant of Works Sponsor Testamenti Christus vocatur Heb. 7.11 non eo precipuè nomine qui pro Deo promissis illius nobis spondet aut quia pro nobis spondet nos obedituros quemadmodum Moses Exod. 19.3.3 Quanto Christus major Mose tanto prestantiori modo sponsor fuit sponsio illius in eo consistet quod in sese recepit prestare conditionem illam citra quam salvâ Justitiâ Dei gratia promissiones ipsius ad nos non poterat pervenire quâ prestirâ omninò illae ad filios foederis perventurae erant Nisi ergo Christi sponsionem evacuare velimus Socinianis pessimis Scripturae perver soribus gratificari velimus necesse est foedus aliquod concipiamus cujus conditiones Châ—istus in se recepit spondendo apud parrem se eas pro nobis prestiturum quibus prestitis spondere nobis pro parre possit de gratiâ gloriâ infallibiliter nobis donandâ Herm. Witsus de Oeconomia Foed p. 104. and that in respect of the Party 's covenanting and the tenure of the said Covenant The Party 's covenanting was the Father and the Son God the Father proposing and God the Son accepting the Terms Here the Parties Contrahentes or Confederantes were equal Phil. 2. and had equal freedom of accepting or refusing the Terms hence the Agreement was Mutual and Reciprocal The Tenure of the Covenant was Express Conditions and Promises upon the performance of them by Reward in a way of Remunerative Justice Isa 53. The Conditions were of the highest Nature 1. To satisfie offended Justice on the behalf of the Elect looked upon as fallen by the Transgression of the Law Covenant in the first Adam and to be the end of the Law for all Righteousness both Active and Passive to all them that should believe 2. That the Condition performed by Christ should not only be Meritorious Virtute compacti as therefore Adam's should have been but that they should be adequately so they bearing an equality to and with the Eternal Life promised by reason of the Transcendent Excellency of the Person and the performances And herein he became and stands the Middle Person or Mediator betwixt God and Man and hence as he was the Covenanting Head and Representative of the Elect so he undertook to be and was the Foederal Condition in what he was and what he did and to him as such was all the Promises primarily made and in him performed all being Yea and Amen in him and hence he became the Fundamental Promise the Father giving us his Son and Eternal Life
in him upon which accounts he is fitly called the Covenant 7. This Covenant is Conditional in respect of the Justice of God and the Law of Works for Grace being to be magnified in a Salvation by way of Mercy the Subjects of it were such as had broke God's Righteous Law and offended Justice and such who were never able to fulfill this Law by perfect Obedience therefore it was Incumbent on the Mediator to make Reconciliation by coming between the Justice of God and the Elect to stand in their stead and to fulfill all Righteousness on their behalf 8. Again the Conditionality of the Covenant may be considered to be in Christ as he is the men way of conveyance of all good things from God to us all Blessings come in and through Christ to us all Union and Communion that God hath with us and we with him is in and through Jesus Christ there is no other Name for it given under Heaven and he is become the Living and Dispensing Fountain of all Grace and Glory the Way the Truth and Life John 14. 9. Upon a due consideration of the Federal Conditions there will result an appearance of two sorts of Promises not differing Specifically but modo quodam and respectively only some that refer most immediately and directly to the Elect and others that have their Aspect more immediately on Jesus Christ As to the first sort they are to the Elect as such and therefore to Christ the Head of them and the First-born among many Brethren and so the Promise of Eternal Life is made unto him and them As to the second sort which are Rewarding unto Christ and the Crowning him with Glory and Honour though they primarily respect Christ yet fall down from his Head to the Skirts of his Garment and become a Joy Comfort and Crown to all the Elect what other can such be As seeing his Seed and prolonging his Days and the prospering of the good pleasure of the Lord in his Hand 10. Divines differ about the Conditions of the Covenant of Grace we are of their Opinion who think that in accurate speaking that the Covenant of Grace hath no Conditions properly so called in respect of us A Condition properly so called in the matter of a Covenant is such an Action which being performed gives a man a right unto the reward Such a Condition in the Covenant of Grace cannot he exacted of us it s very plain because a right to Life cannot come upon any action of ours but only upon the righteousness of Christ seeing he was for us 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Righteousness of the Law he fulfilled it perfectly and left nothing at all to be required justly of us to the gaining a right unto our selves Wits ad Foed cum Elect. p. 195. § 9. The Nature of the Covenant of Grace is Absolute and a Covenant of Promise notwithstanding all the Conditionality contained in it and that must be understood in these respects 1. In respect of the Original Proposer of this Covenant it came from the free and absolute Will Grace and Purpose of the Father 1 Tim. 1.9 and ver 1. This Covenant was not purchased no not by Jesus Christ the Covenant it self Christ in it and all the Glory of it lay in the Eternal Councel of Gods Will and became the purpose thereof and accordingly transacted with Jesus Christ and in him with all the Elect as their Representative 2. Hence it was free and absolute as to the Elect personally considered the whole of the Foederal Conditions lay upon their Head as Undertaker for them 3. The Covenant and Grace thereof is free and absolute and not conditional and suspended upon the unstable will of man Between God the Father indeed and Christ as the second Adam the transaction of the Covenant was wholly conditional Yea he undertook not only for his own works but for ours True indeed it is that when we believe it is we only that believe and when we work it is we that work but our working is not the cause of his Grace but his Grace is of our working Dr. Reynolds Works last Edit p. 923. If the Covenant be considered as it is applyed actually unto the Elect in time this is done absolutely in bestowing the Gift of the Promise to dead Creatures in whom there is an absolute impossibility of performing the least entitling Act to the Promise and therefore there can be nothing freer than Life to a dead Creature neither doth Life given entitle to action that 's very absurd to say but it 's a Principle of Action but Life and such a Life and all the Effects of it proceeds from the same Gift and this is Eternal Life 4. Hence all those Promises that contain the Promulgation of the Covenant in it's Oâ—iginal Nature and as respecting us express the Tenure of it as most free and absolute as it was revealed to Adam Abraham David and in the Gospel-Dispensation since Christ 4. The Absoluteness of this Covenant appears as to us in that all the Federal entitling Conditions contained in it is to be found in another and not in us nor wrought in us for whatever is wrought in us is from free Gift and of Promise and must have some condition performed by another as Federal before we can partake of it Therefore there 's nothing in us before or after Conversion that doth belong to the Federal Condition all our Gospel Obedience is to be referred to the Promise and is built upon it therefore it 's absolute because both Christ the Condition and all the good things promised are freely bestowed upon us 11. For the better understanding of the Nature of the Covenant of Grace Medium est vox communioris significationis quam conditio non omne medium est conditio licet omnis conditio fit medium sed medium ad aliquid obtinen dum ex contractu vel foedere illud demum est conditio Dr. Twiss we must distinguish well upon the Nature of Conditions There are two sorts of Conditions Conditions Federal and Conditions of Connexion or Dependance of things one upon another Federal Conditions are Terms agreed on in Covenant-contract between the Parties covenanting whereupon the Promises made become due by Reward and Debt And this supposeth that the Terms proposed be accepted before it become a Covenant A Covenant is not forced and therefore if the Covenant of Grace were made upon conditional Terms with Sinners it could not be a Covenant-Agreement consummated till they had first accepted the Terms 2. It always supposeth there is a Power and Ability in the Party on whom the Covenant-Condition lies to be performed previous to the Proposal of the said conditions otherwise they would be vain and absurd Hence to assert Faith or Obedience to be the Federal Conditions doth unavoidably throw Men into the Arminian Doctrine of Free-Will and of a Natural Power in Man to provide for his Salvation in the performance of
insisted so much upon the Conditionality of Works and wherein it 's said they continued not viz. In the Mount Sinai Covenant which God gave them when he brought them out of Egypt Heb. 8.9 4. In regard of that sort of Promises which they stood encouraged by to the performance of this External Obedience they were usually Temporal Blessings only and the Threats and Curses denounced against Disobedience was usually in rsepect of outward things though under all this Cloudiness and Conditionality the Covenant of Promise was applied in its Absolute Nature as at first revealed to Adam and Abraham which was to all the Elect living before Christ the Ministry of the quickning Spirit and a Savour of Life 15. The Original Contract of this Covenant before the World was is by some called the Covenant of Redemption and distinguisht from the Covenant of Grace but such do greatly mistake for both the Original Contract and the Manifestation thereof are one and the same Covenant there 's no Specifick Difference that which is is but secundum adjuncta Ordinis Manifestationis Neonom Next to the Doctrine of Imputation which I think I have sufficiently cleared up according to my Scheme and fully and rightly stated Truths and Errours in those Points Let us now Debate the Conditionality of the Covenant of Grace This being a Point of Great Concern I shall premise an Enquiry nto some particulars for the explaining this Subject Q. 1. What is the Covenant of Grace D. W. C. 8. p. 53. A. 1. It is not the Covenant of Redemption between the Father and Spirit as one Party and the Eternal Word the Lord Jesus as the other Party Antinom Who ever put the Father and Spirit on one Party in the Covenant of Grace it's New Divinity and secondly you are very Magisterial in this Negative Position Quadam confidentia non est Virtus ut audacia Methinks the Judgment of the Reverend Divines should have weighed so much with you as not to have blowed it off at one Puff In the Larger Catechism Q. 30. Doth God leave Mankind to perish in a state of Sin and Misery A. God doth not leave all Mankind to perish in the Estate of Sin and Misery into which they fell by the Breach of the first Covenant commonly called the Covenant of Works but of his meer Love and Mercy delivereth his Elect out of it and bringeth them into a state of Salvation by the second Covenant commonly called a Covenant of Grace Q. 31. VVith whom was the Covenant of Grace made A. The Covenant of Grace was made with Christ as the second Adam and in him with all the Elect as his Seed You say That the Covenant Agreement made with Christ was not the Covenant of Grace You call it a Covenant of Redemption as another thing from the Covenant of Grace I acknowledge the Covenant of Grace is a Covenant of Redemption and the Covenant you call the Covenant of Redemption is the Covenant of Grace and therefore shall not incumber our Discourse with a Debate about Names but shall affirm that there is no such thing as an Essential Difference between the Covenant of Grace and Redemption the distinction made between them is but Novel at least that it was but lately so generally received for it appears by what is here spoken in this Answer of the Assembly so plainly and positively that they owned but two Covenants that of Works and that of Grace They are only distinguished between the making and manifesting this Covenant of Grace A Covenant hidden or secret and manifest is but distributio ex adjunctis therefore after they had told us that this Covenant of Grace was made with Christ the second Adam and with all the Elect as his Seed They enquire next Q. 32. How is the Grace of God manifest in the second Covenant A. The Grace of God is manifested in the second Covenant in that he freely provideth and offereth to Sinners a Mediator and Life and Salvation by him c. So that the Covenant of Grace contains all Grace and Mercy Redemption and the offer and application thereof Neonom Were this Covenant understood I think many well meaning People would be undeceived In that Covenant i. e. of Redemption all the Causes of Man's Salvation are adjusted and secured all Satisfaction and Merit are on Christ as his undertaking c. Antinom It seems then this well-meaning Assembly was deceived and many Able Divines besides who have not admitted of this Novel Distinction between the Covenant of Redemption and that of Grace 2. You talk at least very improperly that the causes of Man's Salvation are adjusted and secured in the Covenant of Redemption which placeth it before Election for I take the Grace of Election to be the first adjusting and securing cause of Mens Salvation and not so only but of the Covenant it self made with Christ I thought all the causes were sufficiently adjusted in the Councel of God's Will and that by the purpose of Grace they were secured to us and Redemption too Christ's Undertaking the charge of Satisfaction and Merit is a cause of our Salvation not adjusting and securing it they were adjusted and secured before Neonom Yea it 's provided there that the Elect shall obey the terms of Life and certainly possess Salvation Antinom 1. It 's manifest that you esteem not Redemption one of the Terms of Life but some other Terms distinct from it I had thought that Christ's Righteousness had been the great condition of our Life and Salvation but it seems it 's but provision for the performing the Terms of Life 2. I thought it had been provided in Election that all the Elect should certainly believe and obey the Gospel but it seems by what you say here they were only conditionally Elected and provision made in the Covenant of Redemption that they should perform the Condition and obey the Term very improper it's to perform the Terms Now what is in such a Covenant of Grace more than Adam's would have had if he had stood for God must have provided that he should obey or perform the Terms of Life which were to him very small and easie no more than giving a Pepper-corn or not so much only to forbear plucking and eating an Apple when he had enough besides There 's no Essential Difference in your Opinion for where-ever the Creature performs a Condition of a Covenant of God's making God must provide for that performance by Grace given and confirmed Neonom Yea as that Covenant was not made with the Elect though for the Elect so they have nothing to do as a Condition of this Covenant Antinom Rare Divinity Mens tua sublimis supra genus eminet ipsum 1. You say that Covenant was not made with the Elect. The Assembly say it was made with the second Adam and his Seed but you I suppose deny Christ to be a second Adam a publick Person and a Spiritual or Mystical Root 2. I would fain
know whether Christ in his Humane Nature was not Elect and the Head of all the Elect therefore if we consider him but singly whether he was not the Principal Elect one and I pray was the Covenant made with him or for him I say it was made with him and for him and so it was made with the Elect in him both with them and for them or else how comes God's Purpose and Grace to be given us in Christ Jesus before the World began 2 Tim. 2.9 But you tell us that the Elect have nothing to do as a condition of this Covenant you reckon you highly honour Christ in giving all the Conditionality of this Covenant to him and what 's that It 's that he provided for our performing the condition of another Covenant and why might he not have prepared us by that condition for another Covenant condition after that But it seems your Covenant of Redemption is but a subordinate Covenant to that of Grace and its Righteousness subordinate to our Righteousness which you make the condition of the Covenant of Grace Neonom And to this Covenant of Redemption all absolute Promises and Prophesies of Grace are reducible they being a transcript hereof D. W. p. 54. Antinom What is your meaning in this it 's hard to guess whether Absolute Promises are made in the Covenant of Redemption And 2. If so whom in that Covenant they are made to to Christ You must mean so for you say we are not in it Then the Promise of giving a new Heart is made to Christ and not to us Or 3. If you mean they are reducible to it as being the Covenant of Promise and so Christ and all his Benefits are given absolutely and unconditionally to us in it this makes us concerned as a Party in the Covenant for to whom the Promise of the Covenant belongs to them the Covenant belongs as a Party concerned Neonom This Dr. Owen makes to be a distinct Covenant from the Covenant of Grace P. 268 269. Antinom It is true Dr. Owen and other Learned Divines have spoken of a Covenant of Redemption as in some respect distinct from the Covenant of Grace but make not such an ill Use of that Notion as you do The Dr. says He doth not call these Foederaal Transactions the Covenant of Grace absolutely Nor is it so called in Scripture And it may well be so for we find not the Term Covenant of Grace mentioned in Scripture and some will not distinguish between a Covenant of a Mediator and the Covenant of Grace because the Promises of the Covenant are absolutely said to be made to Christ Gal. 3.16 of which some its plain the Assembly at Westminster was And therefore it appears there have been different Apprehensions in this matter I reverence and honour both Parties as Orthodox and sound in what they intended and meant in this Point but I must adhere to the Word of God as the most infallible Guide in this and other things according to what Light I receive All the difference that I find they make is no more than respectu adjunctorum that is Hiddenness and Declaration or at most to Execution And indeed all I understand by Dr. Owen is two things 1. To shew us under how many Considerations the New Covenant comes And 2. Which of these Considerations it is the Spirit of God seems mostly to point at when it speaks of this New Covenant as a Promise Covenant of Grace or Peace And he saith It 's variously represented 1. In the Designation and Preparation of its Terms and Benefits in the Councel of God which although it have the nature of an eternal Decree yet is it not the same with the Decree of Election c. 2. It may be considered with respect of the Foederal Transactions between the Father and the Son 3. In respect of Declaration of it by Special Revelation 1 By way of Absolute Promise 2 By way of Additional Prescription of the way and means whereby it is the Will of God that we should enter into a Covenant-state with him c. 4. The Covenant may be considered as to the actual Application of the Grace Benefit and Priviledges unto any Persons c. Now all this while he makes not two Covenants a Covenant of Redemption and of Grace but gives divers Considerations of the New Covenant in it's Dispensation and under which Consideration it may most usually and properly be termed by us a Covenant of Grace And the ground of this Discourse is to disprove your Notion That the Covenant of Redemption or Surety ship is the procuring Cause of the Covenant of Grace And he shews that it is no where said in the Scripture That Christ by his Death merited procured obtained the New Covenant Dr. O. p. 266 267. or that God should enter into a new Covenant with Mankind yea that which is contrary to it and inconsistent with it is frequrnrly asserted Now he comes to shew what respect the Covenant of Grace hath unto the Death of Christ and what Influence it hath thereunto A. Supposing what is spoken of his being a Surety thereof it hath a three-fold respect thereunto 1. In that the Covenant Dr. O. p. 271 272. as to the Grace and Glory of it were prepared in the Councel of God as the Terms of it was fixed in the Covenant of the Mediator and as it were declared in the Promise was confirmed ratified and made it revocable thereby This the Apostle insists on at large Heb. 9.15 16 17 18 19 20. 2. He thereby underwent and performed all that which in the Righteousness and Wisdom of God was required that the Effects Fruits Benefits and Grace intended and designed and prepared in the New Covenant might be effectually accomplished and communicated unto Sinners 3. All the Benefits were procured by him c. Now saith he The Sum of these things is Whereas it 's affirmed the New Covenant was procured by the Death of Christ Dr. O. p. 273. if it be understood with respect unto the Actual Communication of all Grace and Glory prepared in the Covenant and proposed unto us in the Promises of it it is most true all the Grace and Glory promised in the Covenant was purchased for the Church by Jesus Christ In this fence by his Death he procured the New Covenant but as to the New Covenant it self it 's not procured All this is rather a Confirmation than a Denial of the Truth of what the Assembly affirms concerning the Covenant of Grace Neonom I say that the Covenant of Grace is not the Covenant of Redemption between the Father and the Son Antinom You should have told what the Covenant of Grace is Neonom The Covenant of Grace is the way that God hath ordained to apply to Sinners that Salvation which is prepared by Christ and which he will inable the Elect to comply with Antinom This Definition or Description I except against For first it
contains not the Genus or common Nature of a Covenant viz. to be an Agreement wherein two Parties do mutually consent nor the Parties wherein the Nature of a Covenant doth consist which is a Condition and Promise nor is there a Covenant in the more improper fence denoted viz. A Promise for if it be a Covenant of Grace it must be at least a Covenant of Promise 2. You say it 's a way ordained of God Here 's no Forma or Differentia for many things are ways and means which are not Covenants you should have said according to your Sence it's God's Agreement with Sinners upon Terms of Faith and Repentance 3. The Application of the means effectually is part of the Salvation it self 4. You say this Salvation is prepared by Christ you should have said By the Father in his Councel and Purpose for the giving his Son and blessing us with all Blessings in him The Life and Salvation is Christ and in Christ he is our Life the Father hath given us Life and this is in his Son 5. You should have said Which he hath promised to enable the Elect to comply with or else it hath nothing of a Covenant in it it carries only the force of electing Will and if he hath promised then to some or other either to Christ and then it brings in your Covenant of Redemption if to any other excluding Christ then to the Elect out of Christ For the Promise to make a Person comply must be made and must be in Nature before he doth comply Neonom I pray what do you say is the Covenant of Grace Antinom I shall tell you the Parties between whom it was made It was made by God in the Person of the Father with Man in the Person of the Son You speak improperly to talk of the Father and Spirit covenanting with the Son you should rather say The Father Son and Spirit covenanted with the Son For by this Notion you take in the Persons of the Trinity for you must take them all in the covenanting part and then there 's as much reason to take them in all in their stipitulating part because the Son is God and so the three Persons covenanted with themselves under the same distinct consideration in the Godhead But we say God essentially considered covenanted in the Person of the Father with Man in the Person of the Son His Son taking Man's part being his Representative as having his Nature in the same Person therefore as the Second Adam having all the Spiritual Seed in his Loyns and as a common Person foederally Neonom And what is a Covenant between these â—aâ—â—sks Antinom It 's the Promise of Eternal Life made to Christ and to the Elect in him to be performed in and through Jesus Christ as the great Condition to all them that shall be saved by him Covenants are denominated from either part by a Synechdoche here chiefly from the Promise as the same is sometimes from the Condition The Covenant of Grace is a great Mystery c. Rom. 16.25 Col. 1.26 1. Because it was Eternal Tit. 1.2 2 Tim. 1.9 2. That though between God and Man yet being made with us in Christ it was between Equals Phil. 2.6 3. That though it was a Covenant of Works yet a Covenant of Grace to Christ a Covenant of Works and most conditional Isa 53.10 11 12. To us absolute and free being a Promise of the Gift of Christ and all Blessings in him 4. It is mysterious in respect of the several states that it hath had 1. Hidden 2. Revealed Hidden in God before the World was Revealed since the World 1. Less manifested in the Promulgation before Christ's coming 1 In respect of the few Emanations and Discoveries of its Brightness and Lustre in Absolute Promises to Adam Noah Abraham Jacob David 2 In regard of it's Vailed state First Under the Veils of Sacrifices Types Figures Secondly Under a Legal Moral and Conditional Administration 5. It is mysterious in regard of the various Names and Titles that it hath had from it's different Dispensations that under the Law was called Old and Faulty because it made but a partial Discovery of it's Glory and Lustre In the New Testament it 's called the New Covenant in respect of the new and clear Dispensation it 's called the Promise because it appears absolutely given forth in a Promissory way it 's called the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as well as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 from the Nature of it in relation to Sinners it's good News to them It 's called a Testament because confirmed by Christ's Death Neonom But you tell me not how you prove the Covenant of Grace and Redemption are all one Antinom 1. Because I know them not spoken of any where as distinct Covenants The Scripture of Isa 53.10 11 12. is a place wherein this Covenant is so clearly described between the Father and the Son it holds forth the Covenant of Grace fully and clearly the Promise of all Grace and Benefits that are contained in the said Covenant of Grace And the Apostle tells us expresly That this Covenant-Agreement was the Will by which we are sanctified through the offering of the Body of Jesus once for all Heb. 10.8 9 10. 2. That Covenant that contains in it the whole Matter and Form in Conditions and Promises of the Covenant of Grace doth not Essentially differ from it but the Covenant of Redemption doth It contains Conditions and Promises of Grace all things that pertain to Life and Godliness and it contains in it all conditions upon which we may be partakers of any Promises Christ's Person Offices Sacrifice Righteousness Active and Passive there 's no Covenant condition of Atonement Propitiation Satisfaction unto the Justice of God but it is here Christ is the Great Fulfiller of the Law and Satisfier of it he is the End of the Law for Righteousness to every Believer Rom. 10.4 3. From the Vailed Dispensation of the Covenant of Grace before the coming of Christ their Sacrifices and their Ceremonial Administration held forth in a Figure that it is made to Christ and confirmed in him as the Great Offering and Atonement Christ is there exemplified and set forth as the fulness of the Covenant of Grace both in respect of Promises and Conditions 4. When we plead any thing of the Covenant of Grace it 's the Promises of Life made to us in Christ as Yea and Amen to us in him in respect of obtaining and performance to us 5. Our Justifying Acts of Faith is fixed on Christ as the Summ of the Covenant of Grace as Satisfying for our Sins and as to whom the Promises were made and the great thing promised as the Fountain and Meritorious Cause of all Blessings he is given us as the Covenant 6. There is all Grace to be had in this Covenant frustra fit per plura quod fieri potest per pauciora there is no Grace but is given forth and
received by us in this Covenant between the Father and Son the Gift of the Spirit the Grace of Faith Justification by his Blood by him came all Grace yea all other supposed Grace that came not from the Father and through Christ is no Grace and will not profit us 7. Where the Covenanters Condition and Promises are all from Grace and Love to us there 's a Covenant of Grace but in that which you call a distinct Covenant of Redemption the Covenanters the Conditions and Promises are of Free Grace and Love to us God the Father from his Free Grace and Love to us called his Son to this Undertaking and Covenanting with him God the Son in our Person from his Love and Free Grace Covenanted with his Father he came and freely offered himself to perform the Covenant condition The condition of this Covenant in all Mediatorial Perfections and Performances is freely promised and bestowed upon us The Promise of Eternal Life all Grace and Glory are promised and given in this Covenant That is a Covenant of Grace wherein God is to us a God of all Grace 8. If the Covenant of Redemption be not the Covenant of Grace then there is more Covenants than the Covenant of Works and the Covenant of Grace for Life and Salvation but there is no more Covenants for our Life and Salvation but that of Works and that of Grace The Minor I think hardly any will deny but if it be said there was Moses Mount Sinai Covenant that was but a darker and faultier Dispensation of the Covenant of Grace in the Moral and Ceremonial Law if Church Covenants be alledged under the Law or Gospel they add nothing to this grand Covenant but are Accomplishments of the Promises thereof to whom it doth belong it being promised that they shall be God's People in this Covenant Christ stipulates and we in him as we did in the first Adam then when we believe we stipulate moved thereto from the Grace of the Promise and enter personally into this Covenant embracing that Covenant which was made for us in Christ it 's called laying hold of it It is solemnly also owned professed and restipulated to when we enter into Church Fellowship repeated Restipulations and Renewings of the same Covenant may be without changing the Covenant for as we find God often repeats this Covenant and renews it with his People in Revelation and Establishment as with Adam Noah Abraham Isaac and Jacob yet it was but the same Covenant so are God's Children excited and encouraged thereto from the Free Grace of the said Covenant I shall not here enlarge any further but refer the Reader to that Excellent Treatise of the Reverend Mr. Petto concerning the Covenants where C. 2. p. 18. he gives us this account of the Covenant of Grace viz. The Covenant of Grace was made and established not only with us but jointly with Jesus Christ and us in him so that both are within one and the same Covenant for the great Transactions with Jesus yea even the giving and sending of him and his accepting the Office of a Redeemer and undertaking for us these are all of Grace as well as what is promised to us through him therefore the Covenant of Grace must take in all that conduceth otherwise than a meer Decree to our Restauration and Eternal Salvation 1. There is no Scripture Evidence for making these two Covenants one of Suretiship or Redemption with Jesus Christ and another of Grace and Reconciliation made with us that distinction which some use is improper for the parts are coincident seeing that which was with Christ was of meer Grace also John 3.16 And it 's promised that he should be given for a Covenant Isa 42.6 therefore it 's of Grace we are Redeemed by him 2 Tim. 1.9 There was Grace before the World was and that must be in the Covenant as with Jesus Christ which was for Reconciling the VVorld to the Father 2 Cor. 5.18 19. Colos 1.20 21. It 's true Christ only is our Redeemer and Surety not we in our own Persons And Christ hath some peculiar Precepts and Promises appropriated to him which are not afforded to us in the same manner and degree yet this hindereth not the Oneness of the Covenant with him and us 2. The Covenant of Grace was made with Jesus Christ as a Publick Person a Second Adam and therefore with all his Seed in him 3. All in the Covenant as with us is undertaken for and promised in the Covenant as between the Father and the Son and so together make but one Covenant 4. All Covenant Blessings are primarily granted to Christ See more p. 23 c. Neonom Q. 2. What is intended by a Condition A. I answer in the Words of the Worthy Mr. Flavel Discourse of Errors p. 248. An antecedent condition signifies no more than an Act of ours which though it be neither perfect in every degree nor in the least meritorious of the Benefit conferr'd nor performed in our natural Strength yet according to the Constitution of the Covenant it is required of us in order to the Blessing consequent thereupon by vertue of the Promise and consequently the Benefits and Mercies granted in this Order are and must be suspended by the Donor or Disposer of them till it be performed such a Condition we affirm Faith to be Antinom Mr. Flavel was a worthy Man but it may be not without some Hay and Stubble I wish it do not prove an attempting at another Foundation besides Christ 1 Cor. 3.10 11 12 13. You tell us what an antecodent condition is that it signifies no more than an Act of ours and such is Faith I suppose you and he mean in distinction from a consequent condition The Antecedent gains the Estate the Lawyers reckon it the Purchase-Mony the consequent condition keeps it and it 's the Quit-rent which if it be not duly paid the Lord can enter and take to the Estate So that Faith you 'll have to be the Antecedent condition money deposited and laid down before you have any thing of your Spiritual Estate And you say it signifies no more than an Act of ours I pray whose should it be but ours if the condition be to be performed by us And why is this put in it signifies no more Unless the meaning be that Christ's Righteousness should be shut out and it should be reckoned under the nature of this condition meerly as an Act of ours without respect to Christ the Author of it and Christ the true Object of it And now you tell us it 's Negative Qualifications 1. It 's not perfect in every degree What 's the meaning of that This insinuates as if it were perfect in some degrees I had thought no Grace were perfect in degrees tho' as to Kind and Truth But you will have it perfect in some degrees and imperfect in other degrees Pray in what degrees is this condition perfect and in what imperfect And whether
it be not an imperfect Covenant that hath an imperfect Condition 2. It 's not in the least meritorious of the Benefits conferred by no means i. e. by any Intrinsick Value and Worth either adequate to or excelling the Benefits received No your meaning is what you have for it is well worth your Money it 's a good Bargain But by your Favour every Foederal Condition is ex pacto meritorious so that you may challenge your Bargain upon Performance if it be but 20 Guineas to purchase an 100 l. per Annum So that we have only your Word for it that it 's not meritorious when it 's so in reality the nature of the thing speaks it to the Understanding of all Men of Sence No no do not think to wheedle Christ out of his Merits and God out of the Honour of his Free-Grace and us out of the comfort of both 3. You say it 's not performed in our Natural Strength No and yet a condition of Covenant made with Man A most unreasonable thing to require a Condition of a Covenant of one that we know hath no strength to perform it If a rich Man should offer an Estate of 1000 l. a year to a poor Man that he knew was not worth a Groat provided he fetched him Twenty Pound of his own Money this Act would be reckoned a mocking and ridiculing this poor Wretch God did not require that small Condition of Adam but that he actually had natural Strength to perform it You will say God will give him Ability to perform so he did to Adam previous to the Covenant As the rich Man tells the poor I will give thee 20 l. to pay me for my Estate he 'll say Well Sir when you give it me I will then bargain with you and when I have it though you gave it me I shall reckon it mine as much as if I had raised it my self or another had given and if we bargain I shall expect to have my Bargain upon this condition Though it 's a good Bargain yet it 's a Bargain and whatever I have of you is Debt I can sue for it as purchased by me saith the poor Man Now see how well qualified this Condition is no no believe it God makes no such lame Bargains as these Yet you say according to the Constitution of the Covenant it is required of us in order to the Blessings consequent thereupon by vertue of the Promise This I must confess is an Orthodox Paradox indeed What mean you by the Constitution of the Covenant Is it not as other Covenants by the Constitution of your Scheme Is it not by a Condition and Promise And is not this Condition performed Foederale Meritum And is not Do this and Live Ordo foederalis and the Blessings consequent ex pacto and therefore Debt Think not to beat us out of our Senses that the Blessings of a Covenant are only à consequentia Ordinis vel posterioritatis As one Man follows another in a narrow Path or Ordine Naturae as a Son is after a Father But here it is in Ordine ad Virtute pacti in order to a Foederal Right and Challenge of the Benefits as a due Debt But how do you understand that Clause By vertue of the Promise Neonom It 's from God's Will in the Promise that they are made to be Conditions He connected the Benefit and the Duty though he chose those Conditions that were fit yet their fitness would not have availed to our Interest in the Benefits unless he had promised that they should avail A Penitent Believer had not been saved but for the Promise though it 's unlik◠a God to have saved any that were not such D. W. p. 55. Antinom Wherefore God's Will in the Promise Are not the Promise and the Conditions both equally willed by God Is God's Will in the Promise any thing besides that Will of God that is in the Condition The plain Truth is this is a puzzling Doctrine God's Will in the Promise that makes Conditions But how You tell us he connected Benefit and Duty But in what manner For he connected Benefit and Duty in the Covenant of Works and it was as much God's Will in the Promise as you can pretend to if I understand the Riddle But you say he chose fit Conditions It was fit God should choose his Conditions and it became his Wisdom and Power to make fit Conditions But imperfect lame sinful Conditions of a Covenant do not become a holy and perfect God to choose to cast away perfect Conditions and take Imperfect in their room But though God chose fit Conditions yet they would not have availed sufficient you reckon but not efficient God's choice of Persons or things in your Sence makes them not certainly future yet we find that many things that God hath chosen do avail to attain the End to which he chose them tho' there be no Promise of their availing But it seems God makes a Covenant with Man and is fain to enter into Bond for Man's Performance of the Condition and perform them himself at last in giving the first Grace But what indeed should be the true English after all this Splutter about a Condition It 's but a little thing wrapt up in the Promise and is ours by vertue of Promise So that at last our conditional Covenant is become Absolute for we have the Duty as well as the Benefit by Promise The Penitent Believer hath his Faith and Repentance as a part of eternal Life given to him by Promise Neonom And consequently the Benefits and Mercies granted in this Order are and must be suspended by the Donor or Disposer of them till it be performed and such a condition we affirm Faith to be Antinom And a fine business you have made of it And consequently i. e. Foederally for it 's no otherwise consequently There must be a Suspension of the granted Benefits not by the Donor that 's improper but by the Bargainer And how long Till he is pleased to give the Man Money to make the Purchase with And is not this Reason if he be to find the Money And is it any Fault in the poor Man that he doth not make the Purchase when he that should sell him the Estate hath all the Purchase-money in his Hands You bid poor Sinners come and buy and you say not with the Prophet without money and price but you must have such a parcel of Mony to do it with which Money is in God's Hands They will tell you when God gives us the Money we will buy and till then it 's not our Fault He is a hard Master if he looks to reap where he sowed not Neonom These Conditions are our Duty by God's Command and no less so by being made Terms of the Benefit in the Divine Grant D. W. p. 55. Antinom It seems you make more Conditions than one we shall meet with them by and by 2. You make the Covenant
of Grace a Covenant of Legislation and so a new Law directly opposed to the Covenant of Promise as we do make appear Was not the condition appointed to Adam by God's Command and had antecedent Power given him to perform Is it not unreasonable to command the performance of a condition where the Commander knows there is no Power to perform Is it consistent with the Wisdom of God to command an Impossibility to his Creature as a Covenant-condition And is it just to deal with him upon his Non-performance according to the Sanction of a Law And you say His Duty no less by being made Terms c. You should have said Legally much more In stead of Terms of the Benefit you should have said Terms of the Covenant if you had spoken properly And as for the Grant you speak of it 's but conditional and there 's no Grant at all pleadable till the Condition be performed Neonom The Covenant tho conditional is a Disposition of Grace There 's Grace in giving Ability to perform the Condition as well as bestowing the Benefits God's enjoyning one in order to the other makes not the Benefit to be the less given D. W. p. 55. Antâ—nom In a conditional Covenant that is a Covenant of Works in the highest Sence there is always a Disposition of Grace to the Creature even in that by which the very good Angels stand and was in that made with Adam It 's Grace that God offers Happiness to his Creature upon any Terms when he is in a capacity to perform them It 's Grace to take his Creature into Covenant The Angels are saved by Grace and so would Man have been if he had stood and though he fell there was that Grace you speak of in giving Ability to perform the condition and giving it before he put the condition upon him which is not here for you 'll have the condition put upon a Sinner before the Disposition of Grace to give him Ability which makes it a harsh dealing and unreasonable and hence far from Grace and therefore this enjoyning makes not only less Grace but no Grace Neonom It 's a Display of God's Wisdom in conferring the Benefit suitably to the Nature and State of Man in this Life whose Eternal Condition is not Eternally decided but are in a state of Trial yea the Conditions are but a meetness to receive the Blessings Antinom Gross Divinity I had thought Christ in the Covenant had been the great display of God's Wisdom 1 Cor. 1. But you must have a pitiful condition an imperfect sinful Righteousness instead of him and a Covenant agreeable to the corrupt Nature and State of Men and indeed so is yours for there 's nothing suits more with our carnal corrupt Hearts than to seek Salvation in such a way as you pretend to And is not the State of Believers decided in this Life But is it still a contingent Axiom that John a true Believer shall be saved What miserable consequences will hence be inferr'd the conditions are still performing these Federal Conditions and Subjective Qualifications it may be the Man may not perform them all and then he perisheth Eternally there 's no certainty of Salvation here no Man can have any more than an Opinion of it shake hands with the Papists and Arminians Nay hence it seems that all the Grace given here is no part of Eternal Life but qualifying conditions to make them meet for it Federally and that in true English is to make them merit it Lastly All the Doctrine of Election is hereby overthrown you may tear out Eph. 1. and Rom. 9. and several other places of Scripture out of your Bible No Man's Eternal Condition is by the Eternal God decided The best Man is but upon his Tryal as Adam was whether he will stand or fall Neonom I will shew you the Reason why we use the word Condition 1. Because it best suits with Man's Relation to God in his presents Dealings with us as Subjects in Tryal for Eternity D.W. p. 55. Antinom I know not why you should make any Apology for using the word for undoubtedly it best suits with your System of Divinity though it would not have suited with Paul's conditions it will suit our Nature that are Dead in Trespasses without strength in the Flesh and cannot please God in the performance of any conditions and it suits his present Dealings you say in way of tryal for our Eternal Estate upon our good Behaviour in performance of after conditions as well as first conditions our Calling Election Justification Union with Christ the Promises of Perseverance all doth not decide our eternal Estate nothing but our final Performance of conditions Lord have Mercy upon us and our Ministers Where 's our Gospel Neonom Christ as Priest hath merited all Antinom He ought then to be content and not except against your Scheme you allow him enough Neonom But as King or Priest upon his Throne he dispenseth all he enjoyns the Conditions in order to the Benefits and makes the Benefits Motives to our Complivnce with the Conditions He treats with Men as his Subjects whom he will now Rule and hereafter Judge Antinom Now he comes to his Rectoral Rule of Government and gives forth his new Law I had thought Christ had been a King and exerted his Kingly Office upon the Cross as well as upon the Throne but now you say he acts as a King or Priest upon the Throne and as such either King or Priest you know not which he enjoyns Conditions in order to Benefits You should speak plainly you mean He sets up a new Law justifies or condemns Men by the Works of this Law and treats all the World as redeemed Subjects deals with them according to this new Law bringing them upon their Tryal for Eternity Your meaning is that Christ hath merited a Power to himself to exercise Dominion in the Earth and bring Men under his Tryal and Judicature in performance of Conditions and they that are saved shall be saved by his Regal Power It 's enough for his Priestly Office that it merited what he was to do as King But not all for the first Grace must not come from his Merits and now there 's but a little Use for his Priesthood all the rest depend upon our Conditions Neonom Now what word is so proper to express the Duty as enjoyned means of Benefits like this Word Conditions Antinom It seems you hug this Word Condition extreamly Neonom Yes I do There 's few Author's of Note even of any Perswasion but make use of this Word in my Sence viz. Twiss Rutherford c. Antinom Few of them understood the Word as you do or at least made use of it in your Sence But whether they understood it so or not it 's no great matter I would wish you to build a Condition-School where all Persons might resort to the hearing Condition-Lectures to sit them to understand your Terms of Art in
Preaching And let us consider a little the Nature of it Condition comes under several Considerations 1. Logical and there it 's Conditio conditionans or Conditio conditionata It 's more Ordinis aut Relationis respectu Ordinis It ariseth from a Priority and Posteriority of things All things can't be at once but one thing must be before another and here one thing is the condition of another respectu temporis there is Conditio relativa and so all Arguments are mutual Conditions one of another and consist è mutuâ alterius affectione and here is not Prioritas temporis sed nature Pater est conditio Filii or rather Paternitas relata affectio est causa filietatis correlata affectionis There is Conditio Axiomatica which ariseth from a Contingent Axiom or necessary and either connex because they 're mostly express'd Conjunctione connexivâ si And so there is also Conditio in dispositione Syllogisticâ ex dependentia inter conclusiones premissa There is also Law-Conditions Dr. Cawel saith It is a Rate Manner or Law annexed to Men's Acts or Grants staying and suspending the same and making them uncertain whether they shall take effect or no. And Papinian saith Conditio dicitur cum quid in casum incertum qui potest tendere ad esse aut non esse confertur This is a general Account of a Condition as arising out of a Contingency the effect depending upon an uncertain Cause And a Learned Lawyer saith A Condition is a Restraint or Bridle annexed and joyned to a Promise by the performance of which it 's ratifyed and takes effect and by the Non-performance of it becomes void Such a Condition I perceive you and Mr. Flavel will have Faith to be a Condition upon which the Promise is made and the Performance suspended by the Disposer till the said Condition be performed Conditio adimpleri debet priusque sequatur effectus Now this being your Condition I say it 's Foederal It 's Conditio Foederalis and let it be in value less or more it makes a Covenant of Works and is cloathed with all the Logical Notions of Condititions besides The Logical Conditions are in all things ex necessitate dependentiae mutuae rerum and a Man can't move a Hand or Tongue without them Even Brutes and all inanimate Beings as well as Men they belong to the whole Fabrick and Constitution of created Beings But a Foederal Condition belongs only to rational Beings and it 's related to the Promise ex pacto in a way of Merit and the Promise belongs to it by way of Debt And in this Sence the Apostle always decries the Law or any Law to have to do with our Justification he affirms that it 's always of Grace and never of Debt upon the least Consideration whatever of our Performance and Qualification And this is the Condition that I contend against and say That neither Faith or any other Gracious Qualifications or Graces of the Spirit are Foederal Conditions or Conditions of the Covenant of Grace My Arguments some of them in brief are these That which is a Gift of the Promise of eternal Life is no condition of it but Faith is a gift of the Promise Ergo. For the Major it 's clear for one thing can't be another eodem respectu tempore The Condition and Promise are Opposita they are Foederalia relata and therefore Contraria affirmantia a Father can't be a Son in that respect as he is a Father As to the Minor it 's out of all doubt by Divine Testimony See John 17.3 Eph. 2.8 To know Christ by Faith is Eternal Life and this Life of Faith is the Gift of God Hence Faith that is the Benefit promised is not the condition of it A Promise or Gift of the Promise cannot be the Condition of it self 2. That which would make the Promise a Debt and the Gift of it a Reward of Debt is not to be allowed But to make Faith a Foederal Condition of the Covenant of Grace would make the Promise to be Debt and the Reward a Reward of Debt Therefore Faith is not to be allowed to be a Condition of the Covenant For the Major it will stand with invincible strength from the Apostle Paul's Divinity and Logick Rom. 4.4 Believing and working are opposed as working and not working as Contradicentia It 's vain and frivolous to shift by evasive Interpretations and all that 's said to that purpose is easily wip'd off For the Minor That putting Faith in as a Federal condition would make the Promise a Debt The Performance of any Work or doing any Act as a Federal Condition let it be never so small the promising Federator becomes indebted thereby to bestow the Benefit promised on the Confoederator ex obligatione foederali and therefore a Debtor Now the Apostle will not allow any thing of this in the least Measure In those places where the Apostle opposeth Faith to Works he speaks of such Works as contain perfect and perpetual Obedience such as God required of man under the Law but not of those Works which comprehend that Obedience which God requires of us who believe in Christ Racov. Catech. c. 9. Therefore your Doctrine of Conditions is Socin 3. That Doctrine which will make all the Graces of Sanctification or gracious Qualifications Federal Conditions is not to be admitted But to say Faith is a condition of the Covenant in the Sence pleaded for will bring in all other Graces as well as it's self Ergo this Doctrine is not to be admitted for there is as much reason that all of them be allowed to be Conditions as that Faith should and therefore I see you and your Party bring in Repentance and other Graces together with Faith and say Our eternal Life is given unto us at the last upon conditional Meetness for it But the Scripture no where speaks of our Justification for or by Repentunce Love Patience Mortification of Sin c. not so much as once in the Sence that it speaks of Justicfiation by Faith And therefore Faith justifies not in it's qualifying nature which it hath in common with other Graces of the Spirit God never intended our strictest Holiness and highest degrees of Grace should be our Justifying Righteousness before God or Federal Conditions of the Covenant of Grace 4. That any Act of ours should be a Federal Condition of the Covenant of Grace destroys the very Nature of it Rom. 11.6 Eph. 2.8 9. Tit. 2.5 Rom. 5.17 18. Isa 55.1 2. 1 Cor. 2.12 Rom. 3.24 as it stands in opposition to the Covenant of Works it can't be distinguished otherwise from the Covenant of Works for the Condition of the Covenant of Works was as small as any thing imagining the Ability was given before the Condition was required He should have had persevering Grace in the Promise had he outstood this Temptation Now the formal difference between the Covenant of Works and Grace was in the Condition
that in the Covenant of Works the Righteousness which was the Condition was in Man himself that was to be Justified In the Covenant of Grace the conditional Righteousness is in another Not only the Promise but the Condition is freely given and is in another If we must provide the Condition nay if it must be inherent in us though wrought by God it makes our Covenant-standing no otherwise than the first and old Covenant-standing Besides the Design of God in the Covenant of Grace is not only to save graciously so he doth save Elect Angels but to save mercifully to take them into Covenant with him that not only are without good Qualifications but such as are most sinful and miserable and not to qualifie them with meriting or dignifying Righteousness first but to save them so that neither they themselves nor God himself will see any Federal Conditions of Righteousness in them The design of Grace is to save the Creature in the highest Degree of Abasement in himself and far from boasting or seeing any reason in himself to do it 6. The great and Evangelical Promulgations of this Covenant of Grace was always in absolute Promises and no mention made of Federal Conditions in us Jer. 31.33 Ezek. 36.25 Hos 2.18 19 20. See Zanch. upon the place He doth not say If thou wilt repent I will receive thee into favour and betroth thee but absolutely Tom. 5. fol in Hos p. 4â— 55. I will betroth thee It is therefore a most absolute Covenant wherein God without any Condition doth promise that he will receive his People into Favour and save them The first Promise to Adam was absolute and was not those repeated Promises of it to Abraham and the Patriarchs absolute The forenamed Author speaking of the Covenant made with Abraham Gen. 17.7 notes that this Promise is altogether free absolute and without Condition because in the Words of the Covenant we find no Condition 7. That which is a New Covenant Condition to some saved ones is to all for it 's not to be supposed that the New Covenant hath divers sorts of Conditions but faith or Evangelical Obedience cannot be a condition to some Ergo not the condition Minor It cannot be the condition to saved Infants nor Ideots but it is not to be doubted but God saves many of them by the Covenant of Grace 8. If Jesus Christ himself be the Sole Condition of the New Covenant then Faith nor no other Grace of the Spirit is not the condition The Spirit it self is not the foederal condition of the Covenant but promised to work Faith and Holiness in us But Christ is the only condition 1. His Righteousness is our Condition in Satisfaction of the Law both as to Active and Passive Obedience Rom. 10.4 He is the Condition in whom it is through whom Eternal Life is conveyed to us 1 John 5.11 He is the condition through whom all the Benefits flow Eph. 1.3 Redemption Forgiveness ver 7. He is the Condition of all Good in him through him and by him we have 1 Cor. 1.30 Reconciliation Col. 1.21 Of him we have our Faith Heb. 12. beg That Christ is the only Foederal condition of the Covenant is so clear and plain a Truth thoroughout all the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament that he must deny the Sun in the Firmament that denies this Truth Christ himself is the Sole Condition of the Covenant 1. It 's impossible any thing else should be the Condition c. 1. There 's nothing else can reconcile Sinners to God in bearing Sin and Curse he only was our Condition for Reconciliation 2. There 's nothing else pleadable with God 1. Christ can plead nothing else in his Intercession but his own Righteousness 2. We can plead nothing else with God not our Faith or Obedience when be come before God in Prayer Dan. 9.18 3. Our best Holiness cannot have any satisfying Vertue for Sin committed II. Christ must be the only Condition that the Covenant of Grace might be free to us That Grace might be free Grace III. He that is the Condition of bestowing the Spirit which works Grace is the condition of all Grace that ensues but Christ is the condition of the bestowing the Spirit Ergo He hath purchased this Gift he sends the Spirit it is his Spirit he had it for this end without measure Neonom I will tell you what is intended by the Benefits of the Covenant A. The Good Things or Priviledges promised to such as by Grace are enabled to comply with the Terms of the Covenant especially whatever is Essential to our Felicity D. W. p. 56. Antinom I pray to what doth that Grace that doth enable a Man to comply with the Terms belong Is it any Priviledge or Benefit of the Covenant Or hath he it out of Covenant And what is that Benefit that he hath in changing his Heart in turning him from Darkness to Light Is not this the performance of the Promise of Eternal Life What condition have you to Premise to this Gift of God You talk of the Grace of God enabling a Sinner to comply just as if he were to keep his Old State and the Grace of God did only help and assist him by some Moral Perswasion I pray tell me 1. Is not the first Life of Grace a good Thing and Priviledge What in us is the condition of it 2. Nay Is not the Preaching of the Gospel a good Thing and Priviledge And doth not Faith come by Hearing You should make Hearing a condition of the Covenant for every Duty to be performed Antecedaneous to another in Order thereunto or as a Means for it is it's condition but not a Federal condition dressing Meat is such a condition to the eating of it making a Suit of Cloaths to the putting it on c. Neonom It 's needful that I acquaint you wherein the conditions of the Covenant of Grace differ from conditions in the Covenant of Innocency or Works as vulgarly called for both lye in doing something though not the same thing nor to the same end p. 56. Antinom We are like to have Excellent Doctrine now here 's a plain declaration that the Covenant of Grace is a Covenant of Works though it 's not the same individual thing and something else designed but it lyes in doing Neonom 1. The conditions of the Covenant of Grace are performed by the Grace of Christ freely given to Sinners The conditions of the Covenant of Innocency were performed by a strength due to and inherent in our Innocent Nature D. W. p. 57. Antinom To say the conditions of the Covenant of Grace are performed by the Grace of Christ freely given to Sinners and that any Act of ours is a condition I affirm to be a contradiction 1. Whatever is freely given to a Sinner is no part of a Federal condition as such but of a Promise 2. That which is to be ascribed wholly as to all its Good to
Grace is no condition of a Covenant in us or conditionary part if there be any it 's in Christ 3. You do manifestly own that Sinners are not capable of a Covenant condition it must be wrought in them therefore how absurd is it to say a Covenant Promise was made to them upon condition of their own Act when they do not Act nor have Power to Act. 4. The conditions of the Covenant of Innocency as you would have it improperly enough were performed by a strength given freely and that before the condition was imposed you make the New Law harder because it commands Duty as a condition beâ—ore it gives strength to perform and how was it due to our Innocent Nature no more than a distinct Nature from Bruits was due to us it was all of Gracious Bounty and ex beneplacito there 's nothing due to the Creature from the Creator but what he will from his free good Will and Pleasure make due well then hitherto you shew us no more Grace in your New Law than in the Old Law and I am mistaken if not less Neonom 2. The Principal Conditions of the Covenant of Grace express the Guilt and Misery of them that perform them Repentance owns our Filth and Guilt and Faith in a Redeemer expresseth our sinful and lost Estate neither of these could have place in our Legal Righteousness as being utterly inconsistent with an Innocent condition Nor can they have much Room in Heaven where we shall be perfect whereas the Terms of the Covenant of Works implied nothing but Innocency and Happiness Antinom You tell us of Faith and Repentance being the Principal condition I pray which are the rest of the conditions it 's fit we should know them all and when we have performed our part that we make our claim for we can make none till we have performed all 2. If our Repentance only as a condition express Guilt and Filth it expresseth our Condemnation only and thereby not a condition of Salvation it worketh Wrath and thereby belongs to the Law of Works broken Rom. 4.15 If it be a condition of Salvation it must take off Guilt and Filth by Expiation which you dare not say Repentance doth make and so Faith it 's not enough to express a sinful and lost Estate that 's but a Sentence of Death but it must as a condition take off this Sentence by its own Nature 3. Whereas you say neither of these i. e. Faith or Repentance could have place in our Legal Righteousness it 's false for Faith had place in our Legal Righteousness Adam's Legal Righteousness was Faith and Obedience and his Legal unrighteousness was begun in Unbelief which is manifest from the Serpents Temptation Gen. 3.3 which Adam complyed with our First Parents fell first by Unbelief And why could not Repentance have been one of the conditions if the Law-giver had pleased to put it in Why might not the Law run in these Terms In the day thou eatest and dost not repent thereof thou shalt die and so one Law should have done all Why could there not have been as many conditions and the same in the Old Law as you will have in the New therefore there 's nothing hinders in the Nature of the thing that makes it inconsistent as you say with an Innocent condition why may not a provision be made in a state of Innocency for the cure of Nocency if the Legislator pleaseth For he made not his Law by necessity of Nature And know that Repentance â—â—th great consistency with the Law and naturally follows in case of Transgression and there was no need of it but upon that Supposition and upon the Fall Adam naturally fell into Repentance expressing the Guilt and Filth of his Sin 4. Nor you say can they have much room in Heaven it seems they have a little at least so much as to retain the Nature of a condition or else the Covenant is lost in Heaven for the Covenant must always be made up of Condition and Promises or Performance of things promised it is an Everlasting Covenant But bâ— your favour Faith hath place in Heaven and that a higher Faith than we are capable of here 5. You say the Terms of the Covenant of Works implyeth nothing but Innocency and Happiness there was not a Promise of Happiness expressed tho implyed and God never intended to give us Happiness by that Law for the Apostle saith Gal 3.21 If there had been a Law given which could have given Life verily Righteousness should have been by the Law Therefore God never intended to give Life to us bâ— that Law or any other if he had he could have given a Law sufficient for it at first and were there no Terms but Innocency and Happiness was there not Terms of Transgression and Condemnation and those were the exprest Terms the other were but supposed or implyed Neonom 3. The Conditions of the Covenant of Grace make us capable of no Happiness except what Christ hath bought and prepared for us his Blood is the Price of all But the Happiness granted to sinless Obedience was immediately from the Creator and knew no Atonement or Mediator D. W. p. 57. Antinom Doth that make your Covenant the better or the worse Is not a perfect entire Covenant without any flaws in it better than a faulty Covenant The Apostle condemns a faulty Covenant but you chuse to prefer a Covenant that is faulty made up of sinful Obedience and that must have a Mediator to provide against it and to mend the faults of it and hence this Covenant could not be without a Mediator because of its faultiness and you say your Covenant makes us capable of no Happiness but what was bought and prepared for us 1. Then this is a Covenant that capacitates us first for what Christ bought and then when we are capable we shall be partakers of Christ by a previous Covenant where Christ hath nothing to do but Extrinsecally only this capability is by congruity or condignity 2. It 's a kindness to Christ that you will allow him the honour to buy and prepare Happiness for us and have it ready against we have occasion for it 3. What other kind of Happiness can you suppose Is there any but what comes to us in or by Christ Would the Life promised to Adam have differed in specie and be of another kind But is not the Gift of the Son himself a Happiness all Blessings of the Covenant are Happiness to Sinners the Father's Love was not purchased nor the Gift of the Son God so loved the World that he sent his Son c. 4. But his Blood is the Price of all there 's enough for him he bought your whole New Law at a Lump both your Inherent Foederal Righteousness for a condition and the Reward of Debt he capacitated the Law and brought it to so low Terms that you were capable of performing the conditions of it But hath his Blood no
capacitating Faculty in it but meerly to be a Price to free us from the Old Law that we may come upon New Terms now with God in the Second Law 5. And what if the Happiness granted to a Sinless Obedience came immediately from the Creator was it the worse for it provided it were the same Happiness and knew no Atonement you say why because it needed none But it might know a Mediator though no Atonement a Mediator may be where there 's no Atonement What did the Tree of Life import Lastly I would fain know whether Christ and all the Gospel Blessings come not immediately from God the Creator And whether they that come from Christ come not from a Creator Were not all things made by him Col. 1. And is not our state in Christ a New Creation Neonom The Blessings promised on the Conditions of the Covenant of Grace are meerly of Grace they be for another's sake and not our own Antinom You cannot make that meerly of Grace that requires a previous condition in us to the bestowing of it you allow this indeed that Christ hath obtained a good Bargain for us and this we have for his sake but the Purchase Money must be paid by us though we borrow it and get it as we can and if a Friend be so kind as to give us the Money yet the Purchase must go in our Name we must be accounted the Buyers Neonom They are given to them that are Condemned by the Covenant of Works and that are still Condemnable by the Law for the Imperfection of the performed Gospel Conditions Antinom Therefore their condition of the Happiness must be an adequate satisfaction to that Covenant which you dare not say can be found in your conditions Condemnation cannot be taken off upon any other condition 2. But I pray what a strange Law is your Law of Imperfection is it an imperfect Law Or a Law to allow imperfect Obedience for a Gospel condition that is a sinful Obedience in distinction from the sinless Obedience which was the condition of the first This Law of Imperfection little becomes such a Perfect Lawgiver to drop a Law of Perfection and set up a Law of Imperfection 3. It seems this Law of Imperfection is soundly so for it 's not only Imperfect in the conditions but in the Happiness for you say they are still condemnable by this Law truly by the conditions you have brought us into a pretty condition you have brought us from a Law wherein we were condemned and into another Law wherein we continue condemnable we are condemned by one and condemnable by the other when we have performed these conditions here we perform Imperfect Gospel Conditions and remain Damnable liable to Damnation not passed from Death to Life What Miserable Divinity is here Neonom Ay but it 's forgiveness which renders these Persons blessed Rom. 4.7 Antinom i. e. When they can get it for they are condemned by the Law of Perfection and remain condemnable by the Law of Imperfection And this is not sure a Holy Just and Good Law it 's not holy because sinful Obedience is the condition and it becomes not a Holy God to command sinful Obedience for the Law condition is a command of Duty neither is it Just to give a Reward to a Person condemnable by the Law neither is it Good for that which is neither Holy nor Just is not Good and therefore we condemn that Law which will do no more than make us condemnable is this your Remedial Law Neonom But the sinless Obedience of Innocent Adam made the Reward to be of Debt Rom. 4.4 Antinom It seems that God may make his Reward to be of Grace he throws away the sinless condition and blends up a condition with Sin is this the way for Grace to abound to make Sin a Sharer in the Foederal Condition yea and Damnation too a sinful imperfect Condemnable Condition the Covenant of Grace is to save from Sin and Damnation not by Sin and for Damnation And is there not a Reward of Debt if a Man purchase an Estate with Brass Half Crowns Washt and Clipt Money if they be accepted as well as if he paid in good Currant Money It seems now God's willing to take your Copper Money he shall have the Credit of giving you an Estate I tell you if Copper Money will pass it makes as clear Debts and Purchases as Silver and Gold But I must say this is but washt Divinity and clipt too and there 's no part of it but is filthily mixt at best Neonom The Vse and Interest of Gospel Conditions is not from the Conformity of them to the Preceptive part of the Law though in a degree there be that but from the Conformity to the Rule of the Grace of the Promise Antinom It is good now we should know how to use these Law Ingredients and mix them well by weight and measure secundum artem and then to know the Virtues and right way of Application and it 's fit we should have good Testimony from Dr. Experience that this Remedial Law is a Panacaea Let the case be never so deplorable It seems the great difficulty lyes in finding from whence the Use and Interest of the Money i. e. I suppose the Vertue doth arise It 's not from any conformity to the Law Precepts that would make it too good and too strong for a weak Stomach besides it would be too costly But there is a little of it in a degree the proportion is not above a grain of conformity to the Preceptive part of the Law to a Pound of conformity to the Law of Imperfection which is your Rule of the Grace of the Promise but though there is a little touch of conformity to the Old Law to season the Julep as a few drops of Spirit of Vitriol to make it more palatable yet the Virtue lyes more absconded than what the Patient can presently find but where do you think In the Imperfection of it This mixture is contrary to all Natural Remedies that the worse the Ingredients are and the more imperfectly prepared the better it is if it should be perfect it would spoil all it would make the Happiness Debt as bad as it would have been to Adam in Innocency or to the Saints in Heaven Neonom The Promise of Pardon through Christ being to the Penitent Believer and no other Repentance and Faith becomes necessary and useful conditions of this Pardon by the Order of God in that Gracious Promise Antinom The Promise of Pardon is not to a Sinner as Penitent but as a Sinner neither doth a Sinner when he applies Pardon rightly apply it to himself as Penitent but as a Sinner Repentance is part of the Promise and is given with Remission of Sins through Faith in the Blood of Christ and without Justifying Faith applying to Christ for Pardon first there can be no Repentance to Life Pardon through Faith is first in Nature
before the Exercise of true Gospel Repentance Repentance is turning from Sin to God and this must be by Faith for none can come to God but by him Repentance and Faith do become necessary and useful by Vertue of the Promise in the way of Salvation but by no means in the Nature of Foederal Conditions God never constituted them in such a Covenant Order Neonom In the Covenant of Works the meer Work gave an Interest in the Reward as it was Obedience to the Precept by a Sanction which had Goodness but no such Grace in it Antinom It 's a gross mistake that Adam's Obedience would have Merited from Intrinsick Value or Worth it was ex pacto and whatever condition of the Creature-Performance the Legislator puts into the Covenant let it be less or more perfect or imperfect it 's all one they do ex pacto make the Benefit promised a Debt and this I will maintain against all the Neonomians in the World Neonom Vpon these accounts I shall never fear that Conditionality of the Covenant of Grace should turn it into a Covenant Works till I see it proved that God can promise and apply no Benefit purchased by Christ to a poor Sinner upon a condition of an Action he commands and freely enableth the Sinner to perform The Judgment Day is past and a state of Tryal is over whenever it is proved Thus much for Removal of Mistakes Antinom And poor confident Man I can but pity you to see how miserably mistaken you are All that you have said is so far from turning your Law of Imperfection into a Covenant of Works that it proves it to be a Covenant of Works against all the World What God can do is one thing and will do is another I am sure he hath made no other Foederal Condition of the New Covenant than Jesus Christ himself and his Righteousness and when the Judgment Day is come and it may be through Grace before during the state of Tryal as you call it you will be glad to throw away all your conditions and hold Christ alone as the only Foederal condition of Life and Salvation And let me tell you again that you forget it not That God never promised or applyed any Benefit to the most Perfect and Innocent Creature upon the condition of any Action he commands but what he freely enableth the said Person so commanded to perform and hitherto you have given us no Specifick difference between the Covenant of Works and Grace it 's only in degree that this is worse in condition and we are all together without strength to perform it Neonom Having premised these things to remove Mistakes I will tell you the Truth which I will express in the words of the Assembly D. W. p. 58. Q. 32. How is the Grace of God manifested in the Second Covenant A. The Grace of God is manifested in the Second Covenant in that he freely provideth and offereth to Sinners a Mediator and Life and Salvation by him requiring Faith as the condition to Interest them in him promiseth and giveth his Holy Spirit to all his Elect to work in them that Faith with all other Saving Graces Antinom In the first place you should have observed that they speak only of the manifestation of the Grace of the Covenant and no distinct Covenant from that of Redemption 2. They make not Faith a Condition of the Covenant of Grace but only of Interest Reception or Participation of the said Covenant With them 't is no more than modus recipiendi or participandi which is generally called the Instrument and therefore explain themselves thus Quest 73. How doth Faith justifie a Sinner in the sight of God A. Not as if Works or any Grace of Faith or any Act thereof were imputed to him for his Justification but only as it is an Instrument whereby he receiveth and applyeth Christ and his Righteousness 3. I made no Question but that it was that Fly that you catch'd at and watch'd for The Word Condition was then but a very small inconsiderable Word that none made any great matter of as importing no more than the Connexion of the Congregrative connex Axiom whose band of Connexion is the Conjunction Si And this conditional Connexion may fall upon any things that have necessary or contingent dependency one upon another whereby they have a mutual Affection or Dissatisfactions one to another and I call it a relative Condition and all things may come under it which way soever they look The Affirmation of this Proposition Si sit homo est animal If the Antecedent be true then the Consequence is true If John be a Man then he is an Animal and the Negation is Non si Johannes sit homo sit animal and though both antecedent and consequent may be false yet the It may be a true Proposition by vertue of the Connexion As if a Man be a Lyon he is a Four-footed Beast So if Judas be saved he did believe It 's a true Proposition tho' Judas never did believe nor was saved neither was there any Covenant of Grace made with him So that such a Proposition as this importeth no Covenant-Condition unless it be foederal over and above If the Devils shall be saved Christ died for them It 's true as a connex Proposition because there 's no other Name given under Heaven by which any Sinner can be saved But neither parts of this Proposition is true for Christ died not for them nor shall they be saved So here if a Sinner partake of Christ it 's by Believing because believing is his Participation and giving and receiving are relata and is no more a Condition here than Faith is to Holiness As thus If I believe I shall bring forth Fruits of Faith and it will be a Condition the other way if I bring forth good Fruits then I believe So that this sort of Condition attends the Expression of all sorts of Relations and Dependencies either Logical Mathematical Natural or Theological But when the Word Condition is carried further to denote a Foederal Bond or Obligation it becomes a big-bellied Word as you have phrased it and is always a distinguishing Character of a Covenant of Works And that the Assembly intended no other than a Relative Condition not a Federal I can give you many grounds from themselves Neonom But I will give my Reasons why they must understand a Federal Condition For 1. They judge that though God provided a Mediator for Sinners yet they have no Interest in him till they believe Antinom They by Interest mean Claim of Interest and Participation which we have by Faith and there Faith is no more a Condition than my hand is to the receiving a 1000 l. When it 's brought it 's only a Relative Condition Where there 's giving there is receiving but if there be any Condition on one side more than another it 's in the giving side which in nature and causality hath the
first place For it runs thus If you receive there 's some body gives So the Giving is the Condition of Receiving Or see it thus If you be a Father you have a Son they are mutual Causes one of another but the Father is first in respect of Nature and Causality If Receiving lie upon the Condition of Giving then Receiving is not the Condition of Giving but vice versa but Receiving lies under and depends upon the Condition of Giving for if there be no Giving there can be no Receiving Neonom They judge the Covenant is conditional they scruple not to call Faith the Condition of our Interest in Christ and Salvation by him Antinom They do intend and so do we that the New Covenant is conditional and hath a great Condition Jesus Christ He is the Foederal Condition satisfactory and procurative but they mean not that Faith is a condition of the Covenant but a condition relative in the manifestation For they could not suppose Faith to be the Condition of what they make the Covenant for it 's but in the Foregoing Answer they say The Covenant of Grace was made with the Second Adam and in him with all the Elect as his Seed They speak not of any Condition of the Covenant of Grace which they give an Account of Quest 31. but speak only of the way and manner of the manifestation of the Grace of God in the Second Covenant and that they tell you it 's by Faith as a correlative receiving Condition They speak not of any Condition of the Covenant but of the manifestation of the Grace in the Covenant by the Participation thereof Neonom 3. They judge that Christ and Salvation are offered to all Sinners on the same condition though God effectually enable the Elect to obey the Condition Antinom They say he freely provideth and offereth to Sinners a Mediator and Life Is Faith the condition of God's providing a Mediator And upon the same Terms that he provideth he also offereth i. e. freely If you look for a condition here it must be of providing and offering And they say God requires and works Faith as a Condition i. e. no more in their Sence but a means of conveyance the Grace of the Second Covenant unto them Now that this is their meaning take a full confirmation their Sence fully express'd in their Confession In Ch. 11. Of Justification speaking of the Nature of Justification saith It 's not for any thing wrought in them or done by them but for Christ alone not by imputing Faith it self the Act of believing nor any other Evangelical Obedience to them as their Righteousness but by imputing the Obedience and Satisfaction of Christ unto them they receiving and resting on him and his Righteousness by Faith which Faith they have not of themselves Faith thus receiving and resting on Christ and his Righteousness is the alone Instrument of Justification Thus Gentlemen you see what a Catch he hath got of the Word Condition made use of by the Assembly When they used the Word Condition it was but Aaron's Rod it 's now turned into a Serpent and every one that savours Christ aright will fly from it It is no better now than a Nehushtan and is to be brokee in pieces in the Sence of a Foederal Condition Neonom Errour The Covenant of Grace hath no Condition to be performed on Man's part though in the strength of Christ Neither is Faith it self the Condition of this Covenant but all the saving Benefits of this Covenant are actually ours before we are born Neither are we required so much as to believe that we may come to have an Interest in the Covenant-Benefits D. W. p. 59. Antinom We have told you and proved to you your Errour in saying That faith is the Condition foederally of the Covenant of Grace and we have shewed how far saving Benefits are prepared for us and ours in the Promise right before we believe yea before we are born and though it 's our Duty to believe and do believe as thereby partaking of Christ unto Salvation yet not in your Sence as a condition of a Covenent of Grace but as a promised Gift and Benefit bestowed upon us in Christ and wrought in us by him Neonom You spend more than a Sermon to prove this and say there is not any Condition in this Covenant D. C. p. 81. Anntinom In preaching on Isa 42.6 7. I shewed by way of Doctrine Dr. C. p. 81. That the Father is pleased to give Christ for a Covenant to the People and in opening it I shewed what it is for Christ to be a Covenant Where I shewed That the Lord means not a Covenant of Works but the Covenant of Grace which Covenant is mentioned Jer. 31.33 and renewed again Ezek. 36 26. and also Heb. 8.6 where you shall find this appropriated to Christ to be his great Priviledge to have the sole hand and managing of this New Covenant But now saith the Apostle He hath obtained a more excellent Ministry by how much also he is the Mediator of a better Covenant And what is this better Covenant Mark what follows Ver. 8. Behold the days come c. Here see the substance of the Covenant I will be their God and they shall be my People Now I shew the difference between this Covenant and others all others run upon Stipulations the Promise runs altogether upon Conditions on both sides The Condition on God's Part They shall live The Condition on Man's Part That he might live he must do this And in the Old Covenant in case Man failed the Condition was broke But in this Covenant there 's no Condition on Man's part to be performed because the Covenant is everlasting Heb. 8. God saith I will be merâ—iful to your Iniquities and your Sins I will remember no more Now suppose there were Conditions for Man to perform and suppose Man did fail in those Conditions what were become of the Covenant The Covenant is frustrated as soon as the Conditions are broken Dr. C. p. 81. Obj. 1. There are many Conditions mentioned in this Covenant there must be a Law put in the Mind writ in the Heart c. Answ It is true God saith I will put my Law in your inward parts But it is not said This is a Condition to be performed on Man's part Obj. But Conditions or no Conditions a Man must have his Heart in this manner Answ I answer It 's true by way of Consequence that after we are in Covenant he will bestow those things upon us as Fruits and Effects of this Covenant but it 's not true by way of Antecedence That God will require those things at our hands before we be Partakers of this Covenant Answ 2. You shall see plainly that Man hath no tie upon him to perform any thing whatsoever in this Covenant as a Condition to be observed on his part Mark how it is in Jer. Ezek. Heb. God saith I will put it
in I will write it they shall be my People Shall here is a Word of Power And it follows They shall not teach every one his Neighbour for they shall know me How By their own Study and Industry No. See John 6.45 The Condition of knowing the Lord is to be performed by the Lord They shall be all taught of God Observe also the larger Expression of the Covenant Ezek. 36.25 c. Obj. If all lies on God's part and Man must do nothing then all his Life-time he may live as he list Answ You must make a difference between doing any thing in reference to the Covenant as a Condition thereof and in doing something in reference to Duty and Service to God who freely enters into Covenant with you I say only in way of Condition of the Covenant you must do nothing Calvin You see Mr. Neonom he doth not deny Duties to belong to this Covenant and Duties to be performed under the highest Obligation of God's free and bountiful Acting towards us in this Covenant but he speaks against your Principium modus agendi that we are not to perform these Duties in a mercenary way as if we were thereby Obtainers of the Benefits by Foederal Conditionality which way of Performance brings us under a Covenant of Works but we are to do all as such who receive both to will and to do by vertue of the Covenant and as the Effects thereof and I am very much mistasten if this be not Gospel-Truth Neonom But he saith in Answer to an Objection D.W. p. 60 I must needs tell you directly That Faith is not the Condition of the Covenant Dr. C. 84. Antinom I did say so and say so still Obj. But you will say He that believes shall be saved he that believes not shall be damned Is not Faith therefore the Condition of the Covenant Answ There is no Person under Heaven shall be saved till he hath believed this I grant yet this will not make Faith a Condition of the Covenant Faith as an Act is our Act and our Act of believing is a Work but it doth not depend upon a Work For the Apostle saith To him that justifies the ungodly Thus far to satisfie you from what I discoursed Now I tell you further that the Proposition He that believes shall be saved denotes no more than the necessary Connexion of Faith and Salvation by vertue of the Promise viz. Of one Gift of the Promise to another the Lord making many of the Gifts or Duties from a Covenant-Principle not upon Terms of foederal Conditionality on our part but that all is to be done by vertue of and flowing from the Promise of Eternal Life whereof Faith it self and the lively Fruits thereof are parts as well as Glory it self and all Eternal Life is in one Promise though not bestowed together but the several Gifts thereof have Conditionem Ordinis i. e. Prioritatis Posterioritatis conditiones relativas inter se But none of these Gifts are Foederal Conditions one of another but all alike belong to the Promissory part Grace as well as Glory Neonom But you say That after we are in Covenant with God he will bestow these things upon us as Effects and that the Covenant in the actual Substance of it is made good to a Man before he can do any thing Dr. C. p. 81. 83. Calvin Great Truths for without Christ we can do nothing therefore Christ the Substance of the Covenant must be given to us first or else Christ himself hath not spoken Truth Neonom I will shew you now how far I agree with you in this point and then it will the better appear where the difference lies 1. The Question is not Whether God hath promised and Christ engaged in the Covenant of Redemption that the Elect shall believe and possess Christ c. This I affirm Antinom Then you own a Covenant between the Father and the Son and the Promise of it was Christ and all his Benefits This one Assertion lays the Covenant of Grace higher than it 's possible that you or I can reach by our Conditions only you would not have this the Covenant of Grace though it contains all Grace but a Covenant of Redemption contradistinct to the Covenant of Grace which is most absurd For what is Redemption but rich Grace God hath accepted us in the beloved in whom we have Redemption through his Blood the forgiveness of Sins according to the riches of his Grace wherein he hath abounded toward us in all Wisdom and Prudence having made known unto us the mystery of his Will Eph. 1.6 7 8 9. This Mystery of his Will is the Covenant of Grace which I can easily also evince made manifest by the appearing of Jesus Christ and working out our Redemption and by the Preaching thereof 1 Tim. 1.10 11. Neonom Neither is there any Question Whether there be any Duty on Man's part as a Condition of Christ's Vndertaking or of the certainty of the things undertaken in that Covenant This I deny Antinom Then you deny all Conditions of ours as required in the Covenant of Redemption as you call it Call it then but the Covenant of Grace as it is and the Assembly call it and then you say as we do in that Point Neonom Nor whether the Conditions of the Covenant of Grace be performed in our own strength or be uncertain as to the Elect. This I deny D. W. p. 61. Antinom Then this Performance by Divine strength and certainty is founded on Promise and if so is the Gift of God and thence it 's frivolous to talk of Conditions to be performed on our part God doth not give his Gifts to us to make Purchase with and rob his Free Grace and his Son of the Honour due to them Neonom Nor whether the Performance of the Conditions move God to enact offer or appoint this Covenant whereby the Grace of Christ is applyed This I deny Antinom What mean you by enacting or appointing this Covenant If you mean your Law of Imperfection we know no such Covenant of God ever enacted or appointed Neonom Yea I add That God enacted this Covenant before we were born and offers an interest in it on it's proper terms to men when Sinners Antinom Then the Covenant was an Eternal Covenant or at least the compleating of it did not depend upon our coming in with our personal foederal Conditions But I do not grant that your Covenant of Imperfection was ever so enacted And 2. You say offers an Interest in it to Men when Sinners Now our Covenant of Redemption and Grace come to be all one All that remains to be done is to bring Sinners to a participating Interest in it Undoubtedly when the Covenant was enacted it was provided that Sinners should have a free unconditional participation of it for the Infinite Wise God knew Sinners would be so poor and wretched that they would have no Condition Money and
never thought fit to make them Purchasers with his Money lest they should boast and claim all as Debt when he had given them Forty Shillings to begin with 3. But you will have Popish Terms come in at the Tail of this fair Story your dead Fly of Conditions must be in every Pot of your Apothecaries Ointment Neonom Nor whether the Performance of the Conditions of the Covenant be a Purchasing Price or Meritorious of the Benefits promised on such Conditions This I deny for Christ alone paid the Price and it 's the Covenant Promises gives the Benefits to such as perform the Conditions Antinom What security will you give us that they be not a purchasing Price or Meritorious What if Christ will say they be such as will Rob him and that he say if we put in and stand upon our conditions he shall profit us nothing What if poor Creatures that you infuse your Notions into and put your conditions upon they take them to be purchasing Prices of an Interest in Christ How will you answer the Preaching another Gospel than Paul Preached and free your selves from the Anathema But secondly If a Man that hath purchased an Estate for me and left me an Hundred Pound to pay of the Purchase Money I reckon that I pay part as well as he though he paid a Thousand Pound and so will all Men judge 3. It 's not enough for you to say Christ only paid the Price when Foederal Conditions besides lyes to be performed by some others and we do as confidently affirm and do prove that where there is a Covenant stipulated by conditions and promises the performance of the conditions though never so small and disproportionable to the Benefit carries a Merit of a Reward as of Debt virtute pacti though it lye not in the Intrinsick Value of the Condition whether it be mine or imputed to me by Loan or Gift to buy the Benefit or Swop for it And this is such a Truth that every Child almost that runs about to play in the Street knows and daily practiseth Neonom 6. Nor whether the first Grace by which we are inabled to perform the Condition be absolutely given This I affirm though that be dispensed ordinarily in a due use of means and in a way discountenancing Idleness and fit Encouragement given to the use of Means Antinom It seems as to the first Grace it is absolute then we come at first into an unconditional Covenant but afterward we must pay for what we have God gives a Stock of Money and then we must buy first begin in the Spirit and then finish in the Flesh I pray what Covenant Promise doth this first Grace belong to to the Covenant of Redemption or the Covenant of Imperfection It 's plain then that a Sinner doth not come under an Obligation to the Covenant of Imperfection till he hath been furnished with conditions some other way So that he must needs come under two distinct Covenants first an absolute and then conditional What a cutting and hacking is here of the Covenant of Grace to puzzle and confound poor Souls in the great concernment of their Salvation Neonom Nor whether all the Conditions of the Covenant be of the same use to the same purpose or a like compleat Terms of the Principal Benefits this I deny for Faith is supposed to all other Conditions c. Antinom It is not to our Business whether they have other distinct Offices but respectu Conditionalitatis foederalis they are equally conditions the comparison is not here in Quantity but Quality One Shilling is as much a condition in the price set upon a Horse or Cow that is sold as Five Pound though it be not so great in quantity but it seems here are divers sorts of conditions some greater than others and Faith hath the preheminence I have a Question or two to ask Whether if one of these little conditions be not performed I do therefore forfeit my Bargain One inconsiderable one that hath ten times more Sin and Imperfection in it than Good And whether this Covenant of Imperfection doth not look upon the Imperfectest Conditions and most sinful provided there 's a little good in them to be the best Conditions And whether it be fit that we should have good sound and perfect Commodities for debas'd Coin Neonom Nor whether upon the performance of the Conditions the Covenant Grant becomes not as Absolute and the right to the Benefit no longer suspended This I affirm for the Promise conveys the Title as soon as the Terms of the Grant are Answered Antinom As Absolute as what It 's Nonsence I take it to be an Erratum but it 's not among them and that as should not be there and therefore it 's thus that upon performance of the conditions the Grant should become Absolute this is impossible for Absolute and Conditional are adversa quae inter se velut regione perpetuò adversantur As much as if you should say after I have bought a House of you and paid my Money that you gave the House to me freely And what do you talk of the Promise conveying the Title it 's the Condition gives me the Title the Promise is challenged upon the performance of the Condition Neonom I come now to the Real difference betwixt us D. W. p. 62. 1. Whether Men have an Actual Interest in the Saving Benefits of the Covenant of Grace while they live in Vnbelief this you affirm and I deny Antinom Did you not grant a real Interest to the Elect in the Covenant of Redemption which to us is the Covenant of Grace That God hath there Covenanted that they shall believe and that Christ hath undertaken for the certainty of their Faith and Holiness and that Christ hath paid actually all the Price of Redemption for them and are all those no Saving Benefits What if they know not their Interest have they therefore none Doth that follow A good Estate may be bought and made over to me that I have as good an Interest in and Title to as any Man in the World to his and yet I not know it it may be it 's in the Barbadoes bought or given by a Friend and I know not of it a Year after but when I hear of it or enter Possession is my Title any better than before And when is the first Grace given which you said is absolute but when we are in unbelief For there 's no Medium between Unbelief and Faith Neonom Whether God doth offer the Saving Benefits of the Covenant upon Official Terms as Believe and thou shalt be saved this I affirm and you deny Antinom You mean by Official Terms only Foederal Conditions Do and Live or Believe and Live in the same sence as Do and Live I say the Covenant of Grace speaks otherwise it saith Live and Do and the command in the Gospel becoming effectual to Believe is the performance of the Promise in quickning and
raising him from the Dead believing is his very Saving it 's his Life begun and not the condition of it Believe and be Saved is a Proposition declaring the near and indubitable connexion of all the Gifts of Grace as Blessed are they that Mourn for they shall be Comforted Blessed are the Merciful they shall obtain Mercy c. These Propositions of Beatitudes do not declare any Foederal Conditionality lying in the Antecedent but a Covenant Connexion of good things in the Promise of Life to be bestowed that one of these Blessings will be where the other is either first or last for Meekness Godly Sorrow Purity of Heart Faith c. they are all the Gifts of Grace and belong to the Promissory part of the Covenant and not to the Conditional and yet become Duties by Vertue of the Promise and Precepts accompanying Neonom Whether the Beneficial Priviledges of the Covenant be not suspended on the Terms of Duty As doth not God forbear to pardon us till we believe This I affirm and you deny Antinom It is as much as to say that Duty is no beneficial part of the Covenant the change of the Heart is no beneficial part of the Covenant but you say these beneficial parts are suspended upon the Terms of Duty It 's as much as to say he shall have no Benefit by the Covenant and all Benefits are suspended till he do some Duty that is no Benefit of the Covenant And as to your Enquiry Whether God forbear to pardon us till we believe I Answer Pardon is with God before it is with us if it were not we should never have it and the Pardoning Grace of God is at work with us before we do believe and doth by the Light of it in the Glorious Gospel work Faith in our Hearts As for your phrasing it thus that God forbears Pardoning till we Believe it insinuates thus much according to your Scheme of Conditions That God suspends his Acts toward the Creature till he seeth something in it to encourage him and that God would have wrought sooner than he did if it had not been our fault whereas God works and none can let neither doth his working or not working depend upon the Creatures but that it is in his own way and time and when he will pardon he works Faith and it must be so because the Believer is Pardoned in application of Pardon therefore the Pardoner and Pardoned are relata and though as relata they are simul natura yet in respect of Causality the Pardoner is first and if he should forbear pardoning till the Sinner were fit for it by good qualification it would be long enough before it come unto us You say the first Grace is absolute and if the second Grace or Benefit be Conditional foederally where lies the condition and if a man be fallen into a deep Well and have broken an Arm or Leg would it not be very odd to say I forbear the Setting of his Arm or Leg till he comes out of the Ditch whereas it lyes upon me to fetch him out of the Ditch first As God pardons who and when he pleaseth so by the same Grace he hath provided for all ways and means of Application Neonom It 's enquired Whether God doth engage to bestow the promised Benefits of the Covenant on all such who through Grace perform the Conditions This you affirm and I deny Antinom I affirm that God doth bestow all the Benefits of the Covenant upon all those unto whom through Grace they do belong and to perform any Duty of the Covenant required is a Gift of Grace You say through Grace and therefore a promised Benefit Creation in Christ Jesus a New Heart Union to Christ Where are there Conditions through Grace to be wrought in us before the effectual Power of Grace To say any thing is to be performed through Grace that is not the Gift of Grace and is not a Benefit of the Covenant is something otherwise your Conditions are but in order of working or at most Relative Conditions the connexion of one Gift of Grace or Benefit to another and then your conditionality is no more than the Apostles Rom. 5.1 2 3. Faith the condition of Hope Hope of glorying in Tribulation Tribulation of Patience Patience of Experience c. These may all be brought into a connex Proposition forward and backward If I Believe I shall Hope if I Hope I shall glory in Tribulation if I have Patience I shall have Experience but yet all Gifts of Grace are none of them foederal Conditions but Promises bestowed Neonom All may be reduced to this Whether our believing consent to the Covenant of Grace be absolutely necessary by God's Command and promised to our Interest in the saving Benefits of the Cevenants This you deny and I affirm Antinom It 's one thing to be antecedently necessary another thing to be consequently necessary Whatever is commanded in the Covenant of Grace as you will insinuate is also promised and being promised is a Benefit Therefore if you make believing antecedently necessary which is a Work and Gift of Grace to all the Benefits you contradict your self and all right Reason And as to the great Ado you make about Interest I have told you it comes under a double consideration of real and known or manifest All the Elect have a real Right and Interest in the Covenant even before believing such a Right as entitles them to believing For Christ hath undertaken that all that the Father hath given him shall come to him and it 's therefore absolutely necessary they should as promised in the Covenant not as a Condition as a leading Benefit and no otherwise And do you not call them Saving Benefits Shew me a Condition to be performed before any saving Benefits that we do receive and then you will say something What 's a greater Benefit than Life it self Neonom I will confirm the Truth by several Arguments Antinom Let it be Truth first It 's very little Truth that hitherto you have affirmed as I think I have made sufficiently appear But go on I am willing to hear what you can say and to embrace Truth Neonom Each of the Benefits of the Covenant are offered to Men on Condition and not absolutely in relation to God as his People is So Levit 36.3 12. compared with 2 Cor. 6.16 Matth. 22.2 3 9 10 11. Rom. 10.9 ch 4.25 Gal. 3.7 Antinom Your Argument is very confused and rough drawn for you tell us not what you would conclude of all the previous Questions I take it for grant that you would conclude your imperfect conditions in whatever Question you put about the Covenant 2. Then you use very ambiguous Terms you talk of offering the benefits of a Covenant It 's one thing to make a Covenant and another thing to offer to make a Covenant for there are conditions to the Offer and the conditions to the making and what you mean by offering
absolutely in relation to God I know not Doth not God offer absolutely Is he provoked to offer Grace from any thing out of himself Sure he offers absolutely and from himself though he offer upon condition or makes Conditions in his Offer And how that comes in as his People is I know not I take the whole put together not to be Sence But I will extract your Argument as well as I can If each Benefit of the Covenant is offered to Men upon condition and not absolutely in relation to God then there are Conditions in the Covenant of Grace to be performed by us before we can have the Benefits But each Benefit of the Covenant is offered so c. Ergo. Here I deny the consequence of the Major first for there are conditions of Offer and conditions propounded in Offer mean them if you please God's propounding the Grace of the covenant-Covenant-condition is no ground of Proof that therefore there are conditions to be performed by us before we receive the Benefit For the Duty required and Good thing promised are but both of them Benefits and the leading Duty it may be the greatest and the greatest Exemplification of the Grace of the Promise Here is connexion then of Benefits as to Relation and Order and therefore I deny your consequence That Promises conditionally made do inferr necessarily foederal conditions distinct from the Benefits Minor also deny'd for each Benefit of the Covenant is not offered conditionally as the making a new Heart the Gift of Faith the uniting Power and Efficacy of the Spirit whereby we are inserted into Christ as our Root before we can bring forth the Fruit of Faith As to the places mentioned I say First That the Covenant of Grace as dispensed under the Old Testament was vailed and covered two ways 1. By Types and Ceremonies 2. By a Legal Ministration in Denunciations Conditions Promises of Temporal Blessings whereby they were carried on to Duty but yet in the Sacrifices they had some sight by Faith of the Absoluteness and Freeness of the Grace of God in the Promise and it 's evident the unconditionality of the Promise tho' it was manifested sometimes to the Patriarchs and Prophets yet was mostly under a Cloud as in a cloudy day the Sun may now and then break out with marvellous Brightness and Splendor when for the generality a Legal Darkness clouded and obscured the Grace of God In other Ages the Mystery of the Covenant was not made known and revealed so as now Eph. 3.5 But as to Lev. 26.3 12 it makes nothing against us for God doth but by his Commands and Promises bring them into participation of the Covenant of Grace For what is Faith and Obedience but the Gifts of his Grace And it 's he who through the Blood of the everlasting Covenant works in us the things that are well-pleasing in his sight through Jesus Christ Heb. 13.21 And this was the way of his working with them being under this Tutorage differing little from Servants till the time appointed of his Father Gal. 4.1 2 4. And accordingly you see Lev. 26.3 the Promise of Encouragement is Then will I give you rain in due season And likewise as he promiseth outward Blessings so Spiritual Priviledges His Ordinances and Presence among them in them ver 12. Not that their walking in his Statutes was the condition of his being a God in Covenant for he chose them before they chose him And God saith ver 13. notwithstanding these conditional Promises I am the Lord your God that brought you out c. Likewise as the Promises were mostly of outward good things Temporal and the continuance of his Ordinances so performance of these were connected to their external Conformity to his instituted Worship they were to be a separate and peculiar People sequestred from other People unto his pure Worship and Ordinances and to that Sence doth the Apostle apply this place 2 Cor. 6.17 For he presseth Purity in Church-fellowship in the foregoing Verses by divers Arguments and among others this of Leviticus That God expected such Purity of the Church of the Old Testament much more of them and hence presseth Separation in external Church-fellowship and Ordinances and then as they have the Blessings of Ordinances they will have the Blessing of God's Visible Presence Whereas I said before Benefits are connected A Duty Benefit to a Priviledge to be as motives to Performance the Spirit working with the Word There may be Commands Directions Motives to Duty in the Word and none of these make Duty antecedently necessary and conditional to our being in Covenant but all consequently necessary being a Series of connected Benefits flowing in after we are taken in to Covenant As to Matth. 22.2 3 9 10 11. you say Coming to the Wedding Supper was a Condition of having share in it You say in your Preface to that place that the Garment is Vniting Faith You should have said Putting on the Garment is the Garment Is the coming to Christ or putting him on the Wedding-Garment or Christ himself and his Righteousness so is it of pardon of Sin and acceptance to Life Coming to the Wedding-Supper was not the Condition that gave Right but the Invitation Coming is a priviledge which the People that are invited to receive the Gospel have whom Christ by the Power and Efficacy of his Grace working with the Word compels and constrains overcoming their Rebellious Hearts As to that place of Rom. 10.9 you have as much Reason to inferr thence that Confession is a Condition as well as Faith the great Antecedent Condition there mentioned is Hearing by which Faith comes As for Rom. 4.25 Gal. 3.7 they all shew but connexion of Covenant-benefits all absolutely given in the Promise of Eternal Life Pardon and Faith Faith and Holiness Grace and Glory all sounded upon one Condition of the Covenant the Lord Jesus Christ Neonom I pray By what Justice then do you say the first Grace is absolute It 's Injustice to add new Terms to any of those Benefits if they be ours by the Covenant as absolute before Antinom I see you will stand upon Terms with God and will have him stand upon Terms with you But God never made any such Terms as you dream of Blessed be his Name Neonom If the Covenant be not Conditional as to the disposing of Benefits it would follow 1. That all to whom the Offers are made have an Interest in them or it is not a serious Offer no nor a true Offer as not containing a real and natural Connexion between the Benefit and the Duty D. W. p. 63. Antinom I must take notice of your shifting in your Antecedent what do you put in as to the Disposal of Benefits the Disposal of Benefits is the Performance of the Promise your Condition ought to lie before the Disposal of Benefits If you mean an adjusted Order in the disposal of Benefits you multiply Conditions to the end of the
World and turn all Benefits into Conditions We are to talk of a Condition upon which as such all others are Benefits and relative Conditions are given forth by Promise And we say Jehovah our Righteousness is that Condition for which we are blessed with all Blessings in and through him in and through him they are bestowed and all ways and means of bestowing them are Blessings provided in him and bestowed by him that there is a Method of Order in bestowing them and a relative Connexion between them there is as also among the Blessings and Benefits and is no hindrance to the Absoluteness of the Promise A Man gives me an Estate to come gradually to me 20 l. per Annum this year and 20 l. next c. is my having 20 l. per Annum this year the reason by way of condition of my having 20 l. per Annam more the next The Condition of all this Estate is resolved into the Free-Will of the Donor and his purchasing of it for me with his Money As to your consequence it follows you say That all to whom the Offer is made have an Interest in them I deny it utterly in such Offers as God makes for though the Tender of Grace be indefinite yet God knows who are his by Election and Redemption and to them he gives his Son and his Spirit and the first Gift of the Promise to perswade and enable them to come unto Christ Or you say It 's not a Serious Offer viz. To offer Grace upon such Terms and Conditions which the Sinner is not able to perform This Inference will rebound back again upon you for saying That these Conditions are freely wrought of God in us Doth God work these Conditions before he offers them the Grace of the Covenant If so you say something and work them in all too to which they are offered if not it 's not serious as you and the Arminians will say Therefore to support your Hypothesis you must grant a Free-will in Man and Power of himself to perform the said Condition Now it is true you say as not containing a real and natural Connexion between the Benefit and Duty Why so Can 't Benefits be relative and truly connected without there be a Foederal Condition Having Food and Raiment let us therewith be content Contentment is the Benefit here and it 's a Duty and the Condition â—â—od and Raiment a manifest Benefit too and can't these be conâ—â—â—ted without one be a Foederal Condition of the other which wanting the Blessing is not look'd for Then you may say Not having Food and Rayment sufficient I need not be content Know this the Spirit of God makes the Promise the Condition of the Duty As to Abraham I am God All-sufficient walk before me and it s always so if we rightly understand the Language for it first bids us live before it bids us do And this is the difference between the Covenant of Works and that of Grace Neonom 2. Faith it self is no more necessary to our first Interest in those Benefits than any other Grace nay than Vnbelief Let no man object It 's a Sign for so is any other Grace so might be the Description of Paul by his Name by his Abode yea Sin a Persecutor c. D. W. p. 63. Antinom There is an Interest antecedaneous to Faith but hidden yet such as our Faith can never come into being without And as to our Interest by Faith you speak of Christ by Revelation of his Grace in the Gospel makes us Partaker thereof It 's an Interest of Possession and yet a Man may be thrown out of Possession unless he have this antecedent Right and Title to it And the Interest by Possession of and Communion with Christ is greater by Faith than any other way because it 's directed to Christ objectively and receives more eminently Christ himself And though it do so yet it can't be the Condition of receiving Christ That is the very receiving of Christ for the receiving cannot be the Condition of receiving then an Act should be the Condition of it self Neonom Let not any one say it 's a Sign for so is any other Grace and Paul may be known by this Name Abode c. Antinom Faith is for those Uses that Christ hath appointed but he never appointed it for a Moral Foederal Condition For if it be a Condition it 's so as an Act and if as an Act a Duty and as a Duty Moral and so makes your Covenant only a Moral Law Believing is more than a Sign but it 's most naturally so in your Sence for in it's Conditionality you make it but the same with other Graces and Duties But we say Believing is feeding on Christ seeing of him receiving of him and it 's not proper for to say Feeding is a Condition of Feeding Seeing a Condition of Seeing yet it carries it's Evidence with it abundantly because there is Perception of all I see and feed upon Neonom Men are said to enter into Covenant with God Deut. 29.12 13. Psal 50.3 To keep Covenant Psal 103.18 To perform the Covenant 2 Chron. 34.31 To take hold of the Covenant Isa 6.6 Antinom In the Covenants mentioned betwixt God and the Church of the Jews we must always consider the Pedagogy that they were under and that they were under the Covenant of Grace vailed and not only with Levitical Types but Legal Dispensations in respect of Duty And the Apostle tells us that this Ministry was faulty and therefore he saith Christ hath obtained a more excellent Ministry far differing 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 By so much that he was the Mediator of a better Covenvnt which is established on better Promises Heb. 8.6 For if the first Covenant had been Faultless 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 there had been no place found for the Second This Second is not to be understood of the Covenant of Works but the Mosaical Ministry of the Covenant of Grace which is fully expressed in the beginning of the Chapter Neither doth the Apostle mean only the meer Ceremonial part of that Ministry but the morally legal and conditional way of Dispensation like the Covenant of Works And therefore he saith The new Covenant that he would make or promulge by the more excellent Ministry of the Mediator it should be published in the true absolute and unconditional Light of it not according to the Mount-Sinai Covenant upon their coming out of Egypt 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 They abode not in that Covenant by performing the conditional Duties 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 saith the Lord ver 9. i. e. He did not give them those Promises of external good things that he made unto them for the Promises were external for the most part as the Conditions of them were morally Legal 2. Besides these explicit Covenants there were Ecclesiastical Covenants as they were a National Congregational Church and in these Covenants they promised Subjection unto God and Observation of all his
Appointments in that Dispensation whereby God would have them to be visibly a peculiar and separate People and what they did in this kind in a right manner was an Effect and not a Cause of their true Interest in the Covenant of Grace but the Covenant it self as externally made was a National Church-Covenant as appears Deut. 29.15 and so when it was renewed in Joshua's time ch 24. And I think any one that readeth that Solemn Covenant Deut. 29. will see that it carried with it all the Thunder and Lightning of Mount Sinai to enforce it and also the Blessings promised were Temporal and the Conditions were the Duties of the Moral Law and Ceremonies ver 26. Now I wonder that any can pretend that this Covenant was the New Covenant for so it was not in the Sence of the Apostle and that it was a Ministry of the Covenant of Grace any more than in a carnal and legal Dispensation after the manner of the Covenant of Works And you shall find among the great things promised for the strengthening and encouraging of the Faithful one thing was the reforming the external Dispensation of Grace in taking off the Vails and therefore always in those places we have it run as a free absolute Promise and God beginning first with them before any Condition is performed on their parts Ezek. 26.25 I will sprinkle clean water upon you and you shall be clean c. So Exek 27.26 I will make a Covenant of Peace with them and it shall be an everlasting Covenant c. Jer. 31.31 33. Zech. 8.8 Hence all external Covenant-Obligations that the Church makes are effects of this new Covenant-Interest Covenants that they are obliged to and Covenants that in the New Covenant are promised absolutely as their Blessings and Priviledges and in that way commended to Gospel-Churches 2 Cor. 6.16 17 18. I will be their God and they shall be my People It 's all Promise and upon this account they are commanded to walk as a becoming People under such an Obligation of Free Grace laid upon them Yea God always in these Old Testament Covenants made his goodness and kindness to them first as a motive and condition unto them to build their Obedience upon whereby he preached Free-Grace to them Exod. 19.4 ch 20.1 and innumerable other places And you mention places your self which shew our Covenant with God is promised by him Jer. 50.4 5. They shall go and seek the Lord their God They shall ask the way to Zion saying Come let us joyn our selves to the Lord in a perpetual Covenant that shall not be forgotten We grant every Believer doth actually and freely enter into Covenant but it 's because God hath covenanted with him first We are not reconciled to God but upon believing God's Reconciliation to us Therefore the Gospel-Ministry is the Declaration of God's Reconciliation and from thence an Argument to perswade us to be reconciled unto God So it is Ezek. 20.37 Neonom All these Expressions are convincing that there is a restipulation on Man's part and that it is a Covenant in respect of that mutual Stipulation between God and us Antinom It 's a strange thing that most of those Men that quote the Church-Covenant of the Old Testament to make good their Notion of the Covenant of Grace that it 's a moral conditional Covenant are against all Explicit Church Covenants whereby Men that profess Godliness should have an external visible Tie to walk in the Faith and Order of the Gospel which was the main Intent and Design that God had upon his People in the days of the Old Covenant and never intended it as a condition of their Personal Covenant with him but a fruit and consequent after they were in Covenant It 's mightily to derogate from the Covenant of Grace to make the Promise thereof to depend on a stipulation on our part For if we stipulate with God we also promise to him as well as he to us before Performance and likewise that we do our part before he doth his for the Stipitulation is covenanting and for any Man to talk of any such thing runs upon multitudes of Rocks Our radical Stipitulation was in Christ all other Stipitulations are effects of it Neonom To sappose the Covenant to be the sole Act of God and an Act that 's meerly absolute renders all these Phrases impertinent and impossible Antinom The Covenant of Grace is the Act of God in the Person of the Father with us in the Person of Christ in him we did restipulate he was the great Covenanter on our part and the Condition of this Covenant and when we by vertue of the Promise take hold of this Covenant we stand upon this Condition with God and God dispenseth all Benefits upon this Condition to us And it 's a free and absolute Covenant to us a Covenant of Promise because not only the Promise is bestowed without Foederal Conditions performed by our selves and the great Foederal Condition the Lord Christ is freely bestowed on us Neonom It was his Act to appoint a Covenant and enable us to keep it and it 's his Act to restipulate on his part c. Antinom This frees it not from being a Covenant of Works for God appointed Adam's Covenant and gave him strength to keep it which strength he had when God gave him the Law but to talk of God's covenanting with fallen Man in that state and say Man hath restipulated while in a state of Enmity is most absurd Or to say he shall restipulate when God gives him Power so to do is as much as to say I have sold to a Man my Horse for 10 l. and when he brings me that 10 l. he shall have it but hath not a Groat to pay Rags to his Back or Bread for his Belly and he refused my Horse too and hates me with a perfect Hatred yet I will make him willing to take the Horse and I will give him the Money to pay for 't there 's no Man can think this Man hath any other Design than to lose the Honour of giving away his Horse that this Man and all the World should look upon the Horse as purchased and so it was and the Law will find it so for all his giving him the Purchase-Money And it 's no less absurd that God restipulates to our covenanting to make us first in covenanting with God which is contrary to all the Account we have of the Covenant of Grace and when any place speaks so it 's ad hominem and in the Language of the Covenant of Works Neonom Consider the Seals of the Covenant Baptism and the Lord's Supper they seal not absolutely but conditionally Antinom Baptism is for Remission of Sins which is an absolute Gift and it supposeth it given where there 's no Qualification for it and this is an Argument to baptize Infants And if you will have it to Seal the Performance of conditional Duties you must never
baptize Infants I would desire no stronger Argument to manage against Infant-Baptism than your Principle of Conditionality of the Covenant And as for the Lord's Supper it holds forth Christ's Body freely given and his Blood freely shed for us and that his Blood was a Seal and Ratification of the New Covenant where-by it becomes a Testament Neonom 1 Pet. 3.21 Baptism that saves us is not the putting away the Filth of the Flesh but the Answer of a good Conscience towards God i. e. Vpright consent of Heart to the Vow and Profession Antinom The Words are thus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 To what was Baptism an Antitype Was it not to the Waters of Noah that saved Persons by bearing up the Ark when the rest of the World were drowned What condition was there of God's saving those Eight Persons And to bring it home the Apostle tells us the mere Element in Baptism and external Administration 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 not the washing away External or Levitical Uncleanness as it was used by the Jews but as it signifies the Blood of Christ reaching to the purifying of the Conscience from Guilt Heb. 9. 10. and thence is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Through the Resurrection of Jesus Christ as it signifies the carrying or washing away our Sins by the Blood of Christ and our rising again wherein we were fundamentally Justifyed and the application of both by Faith whereby our present Sence of God's Wrath and Condemnation is removed To talk that it signifies a Vow or upright Consent is very Jejune against the Stream of Interpreters Neonom An Elect Person known by Revelation to be so while unregenerate is not entitled to the Lord's Supper Antinom He that hath that Revelation I suppose will have something more revealed But in the mean time I wonder why you that stand upon such strict moral Qualifications for an Interest in Covenant-Benefits and so sparing of Gospel Grace stand upon so slight Terms for admission to the Lord's Supper and are so lavish of Covenant-Benefits upon such easie Terms I am sure you may know some of them are not Regenerate without Revelation Neonom Vnbelief and whatever Sins are contrary to the Terms of the Covenant are the only hinderances to a Sinners Interest in the Benefits of the Covenant and by these we are said to reject and refuse the Covenant The Scripture lays Men's want of Forgiveness on their Vnbelief as the culpable cause c. Antinom Then the great Business of the Covenant of Grace is to save Sinners and give them Life being dead in Sin and Unbelief and the Gift of God is eternal Life begun in Remission of Sins and Faith in Christ's Blood which God gives freely unto those that are altogether uncapable to perform any Conditions for it he gives these Gifts to unbelieving rebellious ones And if Unbelief should hinder these Gifts of God's Grace there 's none could be saved And as Unbelief doth not hinder Fundamental Covenant Right which they have by Christ's Imputation so it hinders not God's Application when he will work for then nothing shall hinder You seem also to hint as if some Sins were more venial than others and some more consistent with your Moral Conditions of the Covenant of Imperfection and know that no culpable Cause shall hinder the Forgiveness of those for whom Christ died Neonom The Gospel-Promise being the way which Christ appoints to dispense saving Benefits to Believers must have the same Rules with the Covenant of Grace Antinom Yea for the Covenant of Promise and the Covenant of Grace are the same and saving Benefits are dispensed only by way of Gift which is performance of the Promise and no other way Neonom The Gospel is his Testament and a Covenant cannot be a Disposition contrary to this Gospel Antinom The Covenant of Grace is a Testament because confirmed by the Death of Christ and there 's no adding to it if it were but a Man's Testament and last Will as the Apostle saith and therefore there 's no bringing in any after-terms or conditions of it And the Gospel is a Declaration of this Promise and Seal and addeth no further Terms Neonom This Promise tells us 1. That there is a Promise of the first Grant made to Christ for the Elect and by vertue of that Promise the Elect do consent to the Covenant Antinom Promise and Grant are in a manner one and this made to Christ for the Elect it's better to the Elect in Christ but that will do for the present and by vertue of that Promise the Elect do consent I suppose you mean the first Consent which you will sometimes have the Condition of their receiving benefit by the Promise I hope it 's this a great Benefit and absolute Gift of the Promise and of this then there 's no Condition but Christ by your own Consession Neonom 2. That Gospel or Covenant is the means whereby that Faith is wrought Antinom Very good then the Covenant is the condition of Faith and not Faith of the Covenant Neonom This Gospel commands and by the Power of the Spirit works that Faith in order to saving Benefits which Benefits it promiseth to such as do believe and no other D. W. p. 66. Antinom I thought but now you were got above your Covenant of Imperfections but I find you are working down again These Conditions are heavy bulky things they will weigh a Man down do what he can And is Faith wrought only in order to saving Benefits How often shall I tell you it 's one of the principal saving Benefits of any Grace wrought in us And Faith is promised to Unbelievers else they would never have it Neonom This Gospel invests Believers in those saving Benefitt Antinom And it invests Unbelievers in the saving benefit of Faith and therefore the Gospel is the condition of Faith Neonom It secures the perseverance of Believers in the true Faith and the necessary Effects and thereby secures those Benefits as unforfeited Antinom Then they are not under an uncertain Trial all this Life that it is not determined whether they shall be saved or no as you suggested Neonom But Christ never bequeathed or promised in the Gospel a Pardon or Salvation to Vnbelievers Antinom That 's a Riddle Was it not in Christ's Testament to save Sinners to justify the Ungodly Did he not pray for them that should believe Doth not the Gospel tell us He came not to save righteous but to bring Sinners to repentance that he came to seek and to save them that are lost Doth not Christ say He is the Resurrection and the Life and that we are quickened who were dead in trespasses and sins c. The main Tenure of the Gospel If it be as you say there 's none should be saved for if Men are not saved by vertue of the Promise they will never be saved What a miserable Condition are all in if believing and promising Mercy be not bestowed upon
Unbelieving Sinners Neonom Nor the continuance of that Pardon or Salvation but upon supposition that this Faith perseveres And if the Gospel-promise say no such thing I am sure the Covenant did not p. 66. Antinom What Christ bequeathed he purchased but it seems all was done but upon condition of perseverance We must stand upon these uncertain conditions all our Days it would be some comfort if we could come to some certainty of our Pardon and Salvation after we are over the first brunt but we can't be sure we are pardoned or that we shall be saved till the last Gasp and if we happen to fall in the mean time our Pardon is gone Neonom The Account of the Covenant which seems most for it's Absoluteness implies this conditional Connexion of the required Grace and the promised Benefits Antinom Now all our Foederal Conditions are dwindled away into conditional Connexions only It is well some places seem to be for the Absoluteness of the Covenant if there be but one Text that is really for it I think we are bound to believe it But you say they imply a conditional Connexion God forbid that conditional Connexions should he turned out of the World if they should all things must be returned into the first Chaos and this would be a conditional Connexion and this Connection is between the required Grace and promised Benefit If you had said Bestowed Grace it had been more proper Or said Required Duty There 's no body hath so little Sence as to deny Cause and Effects Subjects and Adjuncts Arguments of all sorts in the Covenant of Grace in that free absolute Covenant and among the Gifts of it there is Christ and all his Effects the Spirit and its Effects Faith and it's Effects Adjuncts and Contraries This we call Relative Conditions or else things must cease to have a Being But that which we deny is Moral Foederal Conditions to be performed by us Such as these we say there 's none In the Covenant of Grace there 's no required gracious Act that is such a moral condition of any promised Benefit Neonom The places that seem to be for an absolute Covenant are Jer. 31.31 32 33. Heb. 8.10 11 12. Heb. 10.16 17. Jer. 32.40 Ezra 11.19 20. There be others that relate to the restauration of the Captivity Antinom You name Ezra 11. for one and Ezra hath not so many Chapters I suppose it 's an Erratum but I find it not among the Errata's As for the rest you insinuate as if they referr'd only to the return of the Captivity Neonom Yes I 'll pitch upon one Jer. 31.31 c. This is quoted Heb. 8.10 12. and ch 10.16 17. To understand this we must consider 1. Whom is this Covenant made with 2. What can be inferr'd from this Scheme of the Covenant 1. It 's made with the House of Judah and Israel not the Men in present being but Men to be hereafter It 's after those days I will make it so that it was after the Mosaick Covenant was to expire ver 32. D. W. p. 67. Antinom Hence then you refute your self in saying that it referr'd to the Restauration of the Captivity for then the Mosaick Covenant was in it's full force Neonom And it could not be the only Covenant of Grace for that had it's Being from the Fall and the sincere Israelites lost not the advantage of it Gal. 3.17 Antinom The Covenant of Grace had it's Being before the Fall and from the Fall it had it's Promulgation then was that first revealed state of it before it was the Mystery that lay hid in God But observe that as it was then manifested it was absolute as to us The Seed of the Woman shall break the Serpents Head There was no condition mentioned nor rationally supposed to be implied but Christ And it 's to be observed that this Covenant-promise was made before the Sentence was pronounced upon our Fallen Parents which Blessing was the Curse of the Serpent denounced Now as this promulgated Covenant had it's being from the Fall so it continued as the Covenant of Grace and Salvation to all the Faithful under the Old Testament The Lamb slain from the Foundations of the World or before them was looked upon as the only Foederal Condition which was exemplify'd by Sacrifices early begun in Adam's Family and continued till the Messiah came Now indeed this Covenant in the Epistle to the Hebrews is not meant in the Essential Nature of it but in the vailed state of it under the Mosaick Administration which is called by the Apostle 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Graven in stone 2 Cor. 3.6 7. and opposed to 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which is the Gospel unvailed Ministration which is said therefore to be New because of the full and clear Discovery that was made by the Revelation of Christ in his Coming and Ministry which was not before And in the same Sence Mount Sinai and Mount Zion is opposed in Heb. 12. And what was seen by this last Ministration It was that Christ Jesus was the Summ and Substance of the former Ministration 1. That it was a Covenant of Free-Grace the Promise given upon the condition of Redemption by the Blood of Christ which appeared to be the true intent of all the Sacrifices 2. That though so much was conditionally required yet no Duties could expiate sin or reconcile us to God And the Reason of those Duties are given us as truly though then not so fully seen was the performance of the covenant-Covenant-condition vertually in Redemption typified by Redemption out of Egypt Exod. 20. In a word the Covenant of Grace stood vailed under the Mosaick Pedagogy which stood in a conditional Command under the Sanction of Rewards and Punishments mostly Temporal and under Types and Figures Now this ministration of the Letter stood under a double Faultiness which clouded the Glory and Beauty of the Promise First A Typical and Shadowy Administration in Sacrifices by which the great condition of the Covenant was pointed at as being not yet come and Symbolically only express'd to their Faith The other Fault was the Moral Mount Sinai Vail which called for Duty as it were in the way of Foederal Condition caused them to perform Duty as under a Spirit of Bondage and in a mercenary manner through the Encouragement of Temporal Rewards and fear of Temporary Sufferings and a seeming Attribution of Demerits to the Performances And therefore the Apostle shews that the Faultiness lay here also Heb. 8.9 Not according to the Covenant I made with their Fathers c. Because they continued not in my Covenant they could not be saved by those Legal conditional Performances but by an absolute Covenant couched under that conditional Ministration being saved even as we for the Law and Legal Ministration it was weak through the Flesh Rom. 8.3 And you speak very truly that the true Israelites never lost the Spiritual Advantage of the Covenant of Grace by reason of
this vailed Ministration but look'd thorough the Vail by Faith for the Law-deliverance at Mount Sinai did not or could not disannull it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Covenant or Testament fore-ratifyed by God unto Christ Thus far we do in some measure agree Neonom But the Point before us is to know who this Israel and Judah be 1. They are either the Natural Jews to be alive in those days which this Promise refers to 2. Or to true Believers who are inwardly Israel Rom. 9.6 If it terminate in the Natural Jews it 's a strong Text for the Conversion of the Jews for the most part by an immediate Influence Antinom Those days are the days of the Gospel-ministration and it 's plain the Spirit of God referrs to the Jews that then lived The Apostle wrote to the Hebrews and his Design was to take them from the Mount Sinai Ministration which they were most fond of He tells them That now the days were come which the Prophet spake of and therefore this is but shuffling with the Texts as if the time of fulfilling this Promise was not yet come when the Spirit of God gives us so clearly to understand when this Prophecy was accomplished ver 6. having given us an Account of the Ministry of the Old Sanctuary that then the Priests did serve the Example and Shadow of Heavenly Things 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 They do service or minister by way of Similitude and Shadow whereby they understood that they were not to last but till a better Ministry ensued And ver 6. he saith But now hath he obtained a more excellent Ministry by how much also as he is the Mediator of a better Covenant And this is the time at the Appearance of this Mediator and his fulfilling all Righteousness that there should be this clear unvailed Dispensation of the Promise Not but God did thus unconditionally save them before but now they should understand the true Ground Principle and Use of Gospel-Services and Duties And here 's all absolute God forgives their Iniquity and writes his Law in their Hearts where all is absolute and free without mentioning any condition though you would fain hook them in any way by Head and Shoulders but you labour in vain Neonom If they be true Believers inward Israel Rom. 2.9 then there is Faith in such who are the Parties with whom God makes this Covenant c. D. W. p. 68. Antinom We shewed you it 's meant first of the professed Jews in those days out of which God would take a true Israel by vertue of this Promise And when-ever they that were blinded should be converted and turn to the Lord it should be so and this way they should come to be Believers for giving the New Heart and writing the Law there is making them Believers How absurdly do you talk of making Believers first and then taking them into Covenant As if making Men Believers and giving them new Hearts were not taking them into Covenant This is from your Principle That there 's no Promise of giving Pardon or Salvation to meer Sinners and Unbelievers which is contrary to the whole Gospel I will shew you a Promise that declares this absolute Covenant expresly to the Sinners of the Gentiles though the same Promise belongs to both expressed in either of the places Rom. 9.23 That God might make known the Riches of his Glory on the Vessels of mercy which he had afore prepared to Glory 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 This fore-preparation was in the Covenant of Grace even us whom he hath called not of the Jews only but of the Gentiles ver 25. As he saith in Osce I will call them my people which were not my people and her beloved which was not beloved c. See the place And that this Calling referrs to more than an outward Profession appears by 1 Pet. 2.9 10. You will make the writing of God's Law in the Heart to be the Condition when it 's the very Promise made Give me the Condition of this Promise to be found in us before God's Law is written or else you do nothing Neonom It cannot be inferred from this Scheme of the New Covenant that the Dr. would have it God doth not require any Duty as the condition of the Benefits which he promised to give D. W. p. 68. Antinom You say the first Grace is freely given which in the Promise is a New Heart Now what is a greater Benefit than Life from the dead And what Duty can be required as a Condition to this Benefit Here you must fall in with the Papists and directly contrary to Article 13. of the Church of England Neonom I talk not of a Condition before a new Heart but that the New Heart is the Condition For God's Law is written in the Heart before our relation to him as his People or the Pardon of Sin Antinom Here you plainly say there 's a real state in Grace without a relative Sanctification without Justification or Adoption the Law written in the Heart and therefore Good Works While we are unreconciled to God it 's before we are his People Now this Law must be written 1. In the Heart of the ungodly Man and Unbeliever contrary to what you say That there 's no promise made to such because Unbelievers Or it must be in the Heart of him who at once is made a Believer in the working of a New Heart in which instant he is related to God and hath the pardon of Sin But it 's unaccountable Divinity That the Law of God is writ in the Heart before our Relation to God as his People or the Pardon of Sins Neonom But God requires us to make us new Hearts as a condition of Life Ezek. 18.31 Jer. 7.23 2 Cor. 3.6 Antinom I suppose Sir you your self cannot say that the first quoted places are wrote in the New Covenant Dialect but in that of the Vailed Covenant especially that of Ezek. 18. the place quoted by you I suppose you will not say it 's quite contrary to Jer. 31.31 for if so we may throw away our Bibles but that this place is to be taken in some Sence that is not contrary to the very nature and design of that of Jeremy The drift of this Chapter Ezek. 18. is to vindicate the just and righteous Proceedings of God For they had charged God with Injustice and Unrighteousness of his Dealings towards them That the Son suffered for the Father's Sins The Father eat sowre Grapes c. God Visiting the Iniquities of the Fathers upon the Children The Lord tells them there 's no Child suffers for his Fathers Sins any farther than he entails the Curse and as he walketh in his Fathers Sins and that by personal Repentance of the vilest Person a Man should be saved and not suffer for his Parents Sins And ver 29. the Prophet saith notwithstanding you have heard the Justice of God thus vindicated you will persist in it and say 〈◊〉 〈◊〉
God unto Salvation but not as the Cause this were to change the Covenant of Grace into a Covenant of Works our good Works are the effects of Grace the Reward of good Works are a Reward of Grace Good Works are necessary to Salvation as the Way not as an Instrument or Cause Faith is necessary to Salvation as an Instrument The Active and Passive Obedience of Christ is necessary as a meritorious Cause Calvin Mr. Antisozzo I pray do you now speak impartially to this Point Antisozzo I think I have met with his Scheme before now and as I take it it runs thus and the Question that lies before us is this What Influence the Sacrifice of Christs Death and the Righteousness of his Life have upon our acceptance with God The Gentleman that I once disputed with stated the Question so and resolved it as follows Antisozzo p. 580. All that I can find in Scripture about this is That to this we owe the Covenant of Grace That God being well-pleased with the Obedience of Christ's Life and the Sacrifice of his Death for his sake entred into a new Covenant with Mankind wherein he promises pardon of Sin and eternal Life to those who believe and obey the Gospel I think this is exactly your Scheme Mr. Neonomian Neonom Yes and something more D. W. p. 8. viz. That the Gospel barrs all Vnbelievers and dead Sinners from Pardon and Adoption and denounceth the continuance of Condemnation against them limiting it's Benefits to such as believe Antisozzo This Scheme contains three things 1. A Description of the Covenant of Grace 2. An Assertion that this Covenant of Grace is owing to the Sacrifice and Righteousness of Christ 3. A Supposition that this Righteousness and Sacrifice of Christ hath no other Influence upon our acceptance with God but that for his sake he enrted into such a Covenant with Mankind 1. His Description is this A Promise of the pardon of Sin and Eternal Life to those who believe and obey the Gospel Neonom You will not I hope deny this to be a true Description of the Covenant of Grace Antisozzo But I will for all your hast It is a Description so liable to Exceptions that it describes neither the whole of the Covenant nor a New Covenant nor upon the matter any Covenant at all Neonom If you prove what you say Eris mihi magnus Apollo I 'll strike out your Name from my Book and if I can be convinced I must subscribe yours Antisozzo You shall see what I can do presently 1. This Description gives us very little of a true Covenant of Grace For 1. Tho you think to put us off with a Promise of Pardon and Life to those that believe and obey the true Covenant of Grace hath given us a Promise of that Faith whereby we may believe and of that New Heart whereby we are enabled to obey the Gospel And First We have the Promise of the right Faith in the true Covenant John 6.37 Eph. 1.8 And least it should be said Faith is a common Gift as other things are the Apostle hath his reply ready Eph. 1.19 Secondly We have a direct and express Promise too of that New Heart from which we give to God new Obedience Ezek. 36. Ver. 26 27. c. 2. This Description gives but very little of the true Covenant of Grace there 's a Promise of Pardon and Life to them who believe and obey but Perseverance in Faith and Obedience is left to the Desultory and Lubricous Power of Free Will whereas in the true Câ—venant of Grace there 's an Undertaking that the Covenant shall be immutable both on God's part Jer. 32.38 4. God hath said He will not turn away from doing them good And 2ly He hath promised That they shall not depart from him c. p. 583. 2. As it describes not the whole of the Covenant so it describes not the Nature of a new Covenant 1. It describes no New Covenant in opposition to the Old Covenant of Works The Covenant with Adam promised Life upon condition of Oâ—edience and those Commands as easie as those now given to Mankind and much easier too if we consider Adam's Natural Strength 2. We are told by you that Christ hath added to the Moral Law i. e. to the Moral Duties required by the New Law Faith and Repentance which is to lay more Load on those that were overcharged before So that as you make Covenants Adam's was much the better Covenant of the two but you have wisely shuffled in a Promise of the Pardon of Sin which may seem to give this Covenant a Preheminence above that of Adam But that will not mend the matter both because it 's better to have no Sin in our Natures than such a Remedy better to have no Wound than such a Plaister and also because the Promise of Pardon as you say is suspended upon the condition of Faith and Obedience which without a Supernatural real Influx of immediate Divine Power reduceth the Promise to an impossibility of Performance 2ly This Covenant described is no new Covenant in opposition to the Old Administration of the Covenant of Grace there were the same Promises then that we have now the same Moral Precepts that we have now Though the Word Gospel come in for a Blind yet the Apostle assures us the Gospel was preached to Abraham 3. Upon the matter it 's no Covenant of Grace at all p. 584. For 1. A Promise of Pardon and Life upon condition of believing and obeying is neither better nor worse than a Threatning of Condemnation and Death to them who believe not and obey not It may with equal right be called a Threatning of Death as a Promise of Life It 's no more of Grace than a Covenant of Wrath And therefore 2ly If it be lawful to consider Man as the Word of God describes him dead in Sins and Trespasses It 's no Covenant at all to him For what is the nice difference betwixt the Promise of Life to him that obeys when it 's certain before-hand he cannot obey and no Promise at all c. Neonom Well Sir pray let us call another Cause Do you argue like a Voucher to my Book Mr. Calvinist he is a sharp Man and he doth this only for Argumentation sake he is of my mind for all this Antisozzo No do not you believe that you wheadled me in to vouch for your Book I know not how but I shall stick the closer upon your Skirts for that I have not done with you yet Calvin I will then propound one Question to Mr. Antisozzo Whether the Covenant of Grace be owing to the Sacrifice of Christs Death and so be distinct from that he calls the Covenant of Redemption Because our time now is up speak only what your Judgment is in this Point Antisozzo Mr. Neonomian I must tell you I have narrowly pryed into this Paradox That the Covenant of Grace is owing to procured by and
founded on the Obedience of Christs Life and the Sacrifice of his Death and yet so unhappy I have been in my search that I cannot find any proof or any attempt to prove it and therefore till I see evidence to the contrary I shall take for granted that the Covenant of Grace is owing to and founded on and given forth by that Free Grace of God from whence it s justly denominated a Covenant of Grace though the Intervention of a Mediator such a Mediator was absolutely necessary to put us into Actual Possession of those Rich Mercies designed to us by God in that Covenant which Mediator himself is owing to and founded on that Covenant of Grace and therefore the Covenant of Grace is not founded upon him but indeed for that Covenant which Mr. Neonomian is pleased to call a Covenant of Grace it 's no great matter where it is founded and therefore let him dispose of his own Creature as he pleaseth c. See p. 581 586. c. Neonom There are Precepts and Threatnings in the Covenant of Grace and therefore those Duties required are Foederal Conditions For to the performance of them are annexed Promises and to the breach of them Threats Calvin I pray Dr. Witsius do you speak in Answer to this Argument Dr. Witsius The Covenant of Grace or Gospel strictly so called as a Platform of that Covenant seeing it consists in meer Promises properly prescribes nothing as Duty it requires or commands nothing not so much as Believe Trust and Hope in the Lord c. but it reports declares and signifies to us what God in Christ hath promised what he will and is about to do All Prescription of Duty belongs to the Law even as after others venerable Voetius hath pressed again and again Voet. Disput Tom. 4. p. 24. seq And this we must firmly hold if we will constantly defend with all the Reformed the perfection of the Law containing in it's compass all Vertues all Duties of Holiness But the Law fitted to the Covenant of Grace and according there to written in the Heart of the Elect commands all these things which are propounded in the Gospel to embrace it with Faith unfeigned and to live a Life of Grace and Glory agreeable thereto De Fâ—â—der p. 197. As to Comminations it cannot be denyed but in the Doctrine of Christ and his Apostles there are many Comminations which have a peculiar respect unto the Covenant of Grace as He that believes not shall be condemned c. which Comminations do seem to be distinguished from those that are plainly Legal Such as this Cursed be he that continues not in all things c. Yet if we exactly consider them the Covenant of Grace hath no peculiar Threats for all the Threats are from the Law which Law as to all its parts doth accommodate and suit it self to the Covenant of Grace and there are none which cannot be referred to or deduced from that meer Legal Commination Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things c. De Foed p. 199. DEBATE IX Of the Nature of Saving Faith Calvin AT our last Meeting we finished our Debate about the Covenant of Grace and the Conditions of it What have you further Mr. Neonomian to discourse Mr. Antinomian about Neonom Divers Points besides that he is erroneous in The next I would challenge him upon is Saving Faith and the Nature of it For his Errour is this That Saving Faith is nothing but a Perswasion or absolute concluding within our selves That our Sins are pardoned and that Christ is ours D. W. p. 73. Calvin But you do not deny Faith to be a Perswasion do you If you do deny that Perswasion is the Genus of Faith every common Porter or Youth in the Sreet will contradict you for they will tell you that they do believe this or that to be true Ask them what they mean by Believing they will tell you They are perswaded of it They take Faith and Perswasion to be equivalent Terms and indeed reciprocal for that which I am perswaded of I do believe and that which I believe I am perswaded of But go on let us hear what Mr. Antinomian saith in this Point Neonom Sir he tells us that the whole Essence of Faith is nothing else but the Eccho of the Heart answering the foregoing Voice of the Spirit and Word of Grace My Sins are forgiven me saith Faith And the Soul that can assume thus from the Spirit and Word of Grace hath the whole Essence of believing D. C. p. 493. Antinom I doubt not Sir but to prove that this is a good Account of Saving Faith I said That which hath the Whole Essence of Faith is not a Dead but Living Faith i. e. which bringeth forth Fruits D. C. p. 493. But the Question was Whether Faith gives Evidence by it self or no by it's own direct Act. Now I said The whole Essence of Faith is nothing else but the Eccho of the Heart answering the Voice of the Spirit and Word of Grace c. Now I thought I could not give a more lively Account of it for the Eccho is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Daughter of the Voice it 's begotten by the Voice So saith the Scripture Rom. 10.16 17. He quotes Isa 53.1 Who hath believed our Report 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Word signifies the Voice heard or that comes to the hearing And so doth the Hebrew Word import 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Who hath believed or heard our Voice i. e. Who hath so heard it as to make an Impression thereof upon their Hearts believingly And the Apostle saith When this heard Voice takes in a due Impression upon the Heart through the Spirit it begets Faith and that Impress is Faith Rom. 10.17 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. Faith verily is from hearing and this hearing by the Word of God Hearing or the Voice that is heard is by the Word of God Hence that Expression of the Apostle James 1.18 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Of his own Free-will working effectually by his Spirit in opening and new framing the Heart as Lydia's he begets us by the Word of Truth The Truth of the Word is received into the Heart as it were with an Eccho and Formation of the Heart into it Progenuit 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 all udit ad nostram adoptionem cujus facti sumus per fidem participes John 1.12 13. Fides autem est ex auditu verbi Rom. 10.17 Ideo etiam dicuntur ministri filios gignere sed quatenus Dei instrumenta â— Cor. 4.15 Phil. 10. Beza by an Assent to it as true and Consent to it as a good Truth And this is indeed the Writing the Law of God in the Heart the Law being taken often for any Truth declared in the Word After this manner the Apostle speaks 1 Cor. 4.15 In Christ Jesus I have begotten you by the Gospel 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 So that the Gospel
Iniquity the Lord hath laid on Christ God himself cannot charge one Sin on that Man and he makes a difference between a strong Believer and a weak to consist in the degree of his Perswasion Dr. C. p. 158. Antinom This was a Use that I made upon that Point of laying Sin on Christ If God have laid our Iniquity upon Christ then whosoever thou art to whom the Lord will be pleased to give the believing of this Truth that the Lord hath laid thine Iniquity on Christ that laying thine Iniquity upon him is an absolute and full Discharge to thee that there neither is nor can be any Iniquity for the present nor for hereafter that can be laid to thy Charge and then follows what he hath rehearsed And if this be not true Doctrine that every Believer that by the Grace of God sees his Sins laid on Christ hath a full pardon of all Sins past present and to come so that Sin shall never be charged on him for Condemnation before God I am to seek for the Doctrine of the Gospel I quote that place Rom. 8.33 to me a very full Proof And I do affirm that the Degrees of our Faith doth stand in the Degrees of the sight of Christ's Glory and the Perswasion we have in our Hearts of our part in him And I do not say That he is no Believer that hath not this perfectly far be it from me to say so there are that are Believers that are weak in the Faith and there are Believers that are strong in the Faith the more the Light and Glory of the Gospel shines in the true Intention of God to his People the more shall they return to their rest the more shall they have Joy and Gladness Why may not a Believer then say as David did The Lord hath been very bountiful to me that I may return to my rest God hath done every thing in Christ and taken away all things that can disturb my Peace and Comfort Dr. C. p. 158. Calvin I pray Mr. Neonom let us have your Description of Saving Faith Neonom I shall express it in the Assemblies Words ch 14. A. 2. D. W. p. 72 73. By this Grace a Christian believeth to be true whatsoever is revealed in the Word from the Authority of God himself speaking therein and acteth differently upon that which each particular Passage thereof containeth yielding Obedience to the Commands trembling at the Threatnings and embracing the Promises of God for this Life and that which is to come But the principal Acts of Saving Faith are Accepting Receiving and resting upon Christ alone for Justification Sanctification and Eternal Life by vertue of the Covenant of Grace Gentlemen weigh this Account of Faith well which if it were regarded and no essential part excluded when Faith is considered as a Condition of any Gospel-benefit One would think no man need prove that it is not saving Faith when any Essential part of it is wanting and that it must be saving Faith when we mention Faith as a Condition Antinom That Reverend Assembly do here express the Essential Parts of Faith and something more as the Effects of it I take it not to be intended for a Definition wherein only Essentials are put but a Description that takes in Subjects Adjuncts Effects c. The Definition is first given A. 1. That the Grace of Faith is whereby the Elect are enabled to believe to the Saving of their Souls After they proceed to shew the Causes of it the Word and Spirit and after that its several ways of Acting and it's Effects They do in the shorter Catechism give a briefer Account of it which may be more properly called a Definition Quest 86. What is Faith in Jesus Christ Answ Faith in Jesus Christ is a Saving Grace whereby we receive and rest upon him alone for Salvation as he is offered to us in the Gospel And if you please to turn to Quest 31. you shall see what they mean by receiving and resting There they say Effectual Calling is the work of God's Spirit whereby convincing us of our Sin and Misery enlightning our Minds in the knowledge of Christ and renewing our Wills he doth perswade and enable us to embrace Jesus Christ freely offered to us in the Gospel And in the Larger Catechism you have a full Description of Faith as Justifying Quest 72. wherein there is the Genus of it a saving Grace the principal efficient Cause the Spirit the Causa ministrant the subservient efficient Cause the Word Both Causae procreantes The Subject in whom it is wrought a sinful miserable and lost Creature really so and in his own Eyes And then you have the Material Cause the truth of the Promise of the Gospel In the Confession wherein it's more largely express'd it's whatever is revealed in the Word this is the Objective part of it and Material The Form of Saving Faith is an Impression wrought upon the Soul from the proper Efficacy of the Spirit by the Word according to the acceptable Nature and Evidence thereof The Truth must have Goodness in it because we believe many things that we fear and are averse to The Word works objectively upon the Understanding perswading it to assent and set to it's Seal that the Word is Truth and from the Goodness in that Truth it perswades the Will to embrace because Voluntas sequitur ultimum dictamen intellectus and the consenting of the Will is an Effect of the assenting of the Understanding Hence then it 's not barely believing without Ground but upon some Authority In the Confession 't is said For the Authority of God himself speaking in the Word which is believing on Christ believing in God from whence follows an awful Reverence and Regard to his Word as also the resting and depending of the Soul thereon And when it 's determined to the Grace of Justification it 's as in the Larger and Shorter Catechism it receiveth Christ and his Righteousness in the Promise and resteth thereon for Pardon of Sin Justifying Grace through the Righteousness of Christ is the Object and that which it aims at is the accepting and accounting of a Mans Person Righteous in the sight of God for Salvation which is fuller express'd in the Confession shewing what saving Faith in the largest Sence designs viz. accepting receiving and resting upon Christ alone excluding all other Foederal Conditions for Justification Sanctification and Eternal Life by vertue of the Covenant of Grace Now you see how clearly they make Faith a Perswasion and that it doth all objectively by taking in the Truth and receiving it for the Understanding receiveth and embraceth by being perswaded it takes in the Light of Truth and the Will embraceth by being perswaded and the great procatarctick Cause is the Covenant of Grace Now I see you have a clean contrary Notion of making it a Condition and moral Instrument i. e. A moral Condition of the Covenant and so a Work and as such
hath a Knife in his Hand and Thoughts in his Heart to murder Christ and yet without so much as laying down his Arms D. W. p. 87. Antinom I wish you have not Thoughts in your Heart and a Knife in your Hand not only to wound my Ministry but the Doctrine of Free-Grace you shew such an inveterate Spirit against both Gentlemen Speaking from that Text John 6.37 and endeavouring to remove Objections from poor distressed Souls that dare not come to Christ because of a high deep Sense of their Filthiness and Loathsomness and that are always aggravating their Condition under the saddest and most dreadful Consideration You will say For all this high Aggravation of Loathsomness and Sinfulness my Case is worse than all this you speak of Dr. C. p. 220. therefore there is something in my Condition that if I come to Christ he must cast me off Mark Gentlemen these are the bitter Complaints of a poor distressed Soul against himself set on by Temptation to keep him from Jesus Christ Besides positive Filthiness I am a Rebel a sturdy Enemy I fight against God I quarrel with God and take up Arms against him I endeavour to remove this Objection thus Imagine your Condition is a Condition of as great Madness and Enmity against God as you can devise as always it is look'd upon to be by one labouring under a wounded Conseience in whom Sin is revived by the Law The Remedy that I advise is to bring this poor broken-hearted Creature to Christ to be bound up I go on and say Sure you will say If I be such an Enemy I must lay down my Arms before Christ will have to do with me or admit me to come to him Will a King let a Cut-throat Traitor while he hath Thoughts in his Heart to murder him will he let him come with a naked Knife into his Presence and graciously embrace him in his Arms For Answer still see the close of the Text Observe that if this be true that in respect of this Rebelliousness in thy Spirit against God thou say If I come to Christ he will cast me off This word in no wise cannot be true Do you think it was out of the Thoughts of Christ viz. our Enmity and Rebellion And if he thought of it do you not think he would not have put it in to clear up this Truth Look into Psal 68.18 and Rom. 5.6 7 8. Now observe what I say I do not speak this to the intent that any should conceive that God leaves Persons rebellious Dr. C. p. 211. vile and loathsom as he doth find them when he closeth with them but I say that time when the Lord closeth with them it 's a state of Rebellion and if thou come to Christ in this Condition it manifestly shall appear to thee that he will open his Bosom for thy Head to rest upon as well as for the Righteousest Saint in the World so Christ invites every one that thirsts to come and drink of the Water of Life freely Calvin I would fain know Mr. Neonomian what you would say to a distressed Soul in such a condition that would not only liken himself to a Murderer or a Cut-throat Traytor but will give you an Instance that he is so even at this very time he hath continually horrid blasphemous Thoughts of God yea Atheistical and such as is a Horror to mention He will tell you what a sink of Vileness and Hypocrisie he is in upon all respects what would you tell him indeed here 's the Skill of a Divine Neonom Tell him I would tell him he must be humbled for those Sins and he must cast out these filthy Thoughts and that he must pray and hear the Word and watch over his Heart and resist Satan and indeed must get rid of this Enmity that is in his Heart and this Rebellion and then he may come to Christ for Pardon Calvin Ay but I can do none of these my proud Heart will not be humbled my filthy Thoughts will remain I cannot love God nay I cannot pray and the Word of God is a Terror unto me I fly from the Law and as for the Gospel I dare not come at it God is a Terror to me Neonom I would tell him such a vile Heart corrupt Affections Blasphemous Thoughts are inconsistent with Vocation Regeneration Conversion I would tell him he can't have true Faith or Acceptance with Christ which consists with such vile dispositions and is void of a purpose to be otherwise Calvin And would you not think meet to invite this poor Soul to come to Jesus Christ in this sad Condition Neonom No indeed that I would not in that miserable pickle Calvin What would you do with him Neonom I would tell him he hath a proud Heart which God is humbling his Lusts must be mortify'd he must bear the Indignation of the Lord God will shine in upon you in his due time when you are fit for it and your Sins be purged in the mean time you must wait Calvin But may not a Man speak to such an one of Help laid upon one that 's mighty to save Neonom Take heed of being too bold there If Christ be mentioned it must but be as King and Law-giver if you be too busie in talking of Christ as Priest and Sacrifice and of laying his Sins on Christ it may prove such a Narcotick to him as may cast him into the contrary Extream of carnal Security and Presumption that his condition is better than it is Calvin Do you deal thus always with distressed afflicted Souls when they come to you for advice Neonom No not always in private Conference but in the Pulpit this way must be taken or else you 'll have a company of vile loathsom Sinners grow too sawcy upon the Doctrine of Grace and the Promise Calvin And yet here your Ministry is very successful you receive many Members I suppose you have to deal with great Variety of Cases Neonom I do not trouble my self with that way of Experiences I know no Rule for that I ask them whether they have been humbled and whether they are sincere in taking Christ as their Lord and I tell them now God accepts Sincerity and Imperfect Duties as the Condition of the Covenant of Grace and I find this way succeeds very well and I hope to make it take throughout the City and extirpate those Antinomian Principles and Congregational too Calvin Indeed Mr. Neonomian I must take my liberty to dissent altogether from you in your Method with and Cure of distressed Consciences it was not the way formerly I am for bringing such a poor loathsom polluted Creature to the Fountain set open for Sin and Uncleanness c. and not say he must be washed first Neonom Can we thus Marry Christ what a carnal selfish thing is Believing A meer using Christ for our own safety in our Abominations which we resolve shall rule over us
Life as a Reward of work for this was the Tenour of the Covenant of Works but from Life received being dead in our selves by Nature and in respect of the Law Condemned Persons we must work not to obtain Eternal Life by working but having received Life from it to work Christ saith He is the Life the Resurrection and the Life Where 's the Man that can work without Life to work from Neonom But he understands this you 'l say only of External Duties but not of the Actings of Grace no I could shew you how he saith the same of all Graces Antinom You need not have troubled your selves with that Objection for I do intend all Graces and Duties for they must all be performed from a Principle of Life received and not for Mercenary Designs and Ends thinking that thereby we deserve any thing of the Lord for when we have done all we are unprofitable Servants Neonom He saith That is the proper Work that God hath given to Belleving D. W. p. 124. D. Cr. p. 326. not to effect any thing to the good of Man but only to be the witness of that good to the Spirit of Man and so give light to that which was hidden before Antinom You know my Opinion and it 's with other Divines That there is Justification in Heaven and Justification in a Man's Conscience and Spirit D. G. â— 3â—â— Justification in Consciences and Spirits of Men is the manifestation of that Act of God to a Man 's own Spirit by which a Man comes to know and consequently to rejoice in the Justification of God and so you may read the words Rom 5.1 Bring Justified by Faith i. e. through Faith having the Justification of God evidenced and manifested to our Spirits we have peace with God I contend not with them that say It Justifies Virtute objecti or Instrumentaliter So that I ascribeâ— all the Efficacy to Christ's Righteousness and not to the Act of Faith as a Quolifying Condition to Justifie sensu proprio as you and the Arminian's do and in that sence I spake against its doing us good that is in your sence of Justification Neonom He saith If you have more Ability than others in doing let it not come into your Thoughts D. W. p. 125. D. C. p. 429. as an Inducement to think better of your self as if you were more accepted of God or pleasing in his sight Antinom I believe it is or should be the Spirit of the best of God's Children that they prefer others above themselves Phil. 3. viz. That fear the Lord and think not that there 's any thing in them that makes them more accepted than others but that all that have true Faith are equally accepted in the Beloved and that Paul's Usefulness and Apostleship rendred him no more Justified than the meanest of the Disciples of Christ Calvin You see Mr. Antinom as he is for the exalting Christ so he speaks highly in the Commendation yea and usefulness of Holiness and good Works those diminutive Terms that he useth is in respect of Purchase obtaining Pardon or being qualifying Conditions for the bestowing of Benefits He holds Christ is the great Condition both of Grace here and glory hereafter tho' I confess I wish Mr. Antinom you had spared many Expressions for which I fear the Truth suffers from the ignorant and more learned of perverse Minds that make it their business to load the Doctrine of Free-Grace with all Scorn and Contempt and take all occasions to wound the Truth because of some rash or over-zealous Expressions used by you and others which it may be had you foreseen you would have prevented by not using them or had you printed your own Sermons you would not have sent to the Press Mr. Neonom I pray let us have this Doctrine delivered in your own Words and Expressions Neonom The Truth is this That though neither Holiness sincere Obedience or good Works do make any Atonement for sin or are in the least meritorious Righteousness whereby Salvation is caused or for which this or any Blessing becomes due to us by Debt yet as the Spirit of God freely worketh all Holiness and enableth to sincere Obedience and good Works so the Lord Jesus hath of his own Grace and for his own Merits promised to bring to Heaven such as are Partakers of true Holiness perform his sincere Obedience and do those good Works perseveringly Antinom You allow Christ the Honour of Atonement for Sin but how far I know not by what follows his Atonement reacheth not the Breach of the new Law Conditions but only so far as refers to Sins against the Old Law of which you will not allow Impenitency and Unbelief be a breach so that there must be some way in the new Law found out to expiate and appease God for them without Christ's Atonement Beside the Conditions of it it being only imperfect Obedience there will need nothing but the Performance of the constituted Condition which whether perfect or imperfect being performed as well as is required tho' sinfully imperfect leaves no place for Sacrifice or Atonement hence you allow Christ's Righteousness to have merited Blessings with the same Reserve which you are not willing to speak out viz. That Christ hath purchased and merited that we shall come under new and milder Terms with God or God rather with us We thank you no more than we do the Papists for saying Christ hath merited all and is a cause even as the Creation was of the Covenant of Works God's the Cause of all for he made all so Christ hath merited all that follows whatever new Laws and Conditions follow and upon which Terms Benefits become due to us you should have said to Mankind by Debt We may challenge the Priviledges of compounding with God upon such Terms as we like better than the former but our Failure in performing those Terms that Christ agreed for will bring us under new Arrearages to God And for your saying the holy Spirit worketh freely the said conditional Holiness it helps not which notwithstanding your setting aside the Word Merit is truly fo virtute compacti tho' not valoris intrinseci as much as Adam's would have been And as to the Spirit you ascribe the free giving and working of it you give no more to it than Adam had in the state of Innocency and not so much for God had given and wrought in Adam that Perfection and Strength of Grace whereby he might have stood if he would You say There is a Promise made by Christ of Glory upon Condition of their good Works and Perseverance Your Suggestion to us is of two Covenants of Grace procured by Christ for us One the Promise of the state of Grace and Justification provided we fulfil the Conditions of Faith and Repentance whereby we have the first Justification The Second Covenant is of a state of Glory upon condition of Perseverance in good Works which condition if we
should have excepted some and reserved them for good Works but as to those Essential how comes it that a Man can have no more than is of a contingent Proposition the Judgment whereof is Opinion Neonom Nor whether it be the Influence of the Spirit that we are Holy Obedient and enabled to every good Work D. W. p. 125. Antinom Nor would it have been the question if Adam had persevered in the performance of the Conditions of the Law Covenant he would have done all by the Influence of the Spirit Neonom Nor whether it is for the sake of Christ's Merits and Incense and of Free Grace that any Grace or Duty of ours is rewarded or becomes the means of any Benefit these I affirm Antinom Yes for it was through these Merits and Grace that God would suffer us to try for Life in another Covenant of Works he might have taken the advantage of our breaking of the first Covenant as he did upon the Fallen Angels but Christ hath Merited and Grace hath been so far free as to set up another Covenant of Works that we may try for it once more as for your affirming or denying it signifies not much Men that are used to speak always with Mental Reservation will resolve Cases of Conscience like the Oracle of Apollo that you 'll come from them as wise as you went Neonom Nor whether any Holiness internal or external any Obedience Work or Duty do at all Merit the Promise or is the Meritorious Cause of Righteousness for which any promised Mercy is bestowed this I deny Antinom It seems you abdicate the word Merit but if it be an Honest Reward as due Debt it is as good the Catholicks will bate you the word if you allow the thing though you put a Fools Coat upon it Neonom I own that all is of Gift though given in an Order suitable to our condition in a state of Tryal Antinom So was Creation and Created Holiness in Adam and God's taking him into Covenant in an Order suitable to his Condition in a state of Tryal but you see what his Tryal came to We are miserable if our state in Grace be such a state of Tryal Neonom Nor whether the Law be a Rule of Duty This I affirm and you too though you deny any Threatning or Promise to back God's Law as to the Elect. D. W. p. 126. Antinom We affirm it to be not only a Rule of Duty but to stand in full force as to all its Promises and Threatnings that it still promiseth Life to perfect Obedience and threatens Death to the least Disobedience in all without distinction therefore we deny not Threatnings and Promises to back God's Law as to the Elect. Neonom Nor whether the Elect ought to be Holy and will be Holy this you own but you place it wholly on the Decree and Christ's Care Antinom Gentlemen observe now after all this noise he owns that I say the Elect ought to be Holy and will be Holy but saith I place it wrong can I place it better than on Christ's Care I think in all our Fears and Doubtings we should cast all our Care upon him by believing his Truth and Faithfulness in the Promise because he careth for us and hath said He will never leave nor forsake us I desire to have no better Security for Holiness and Perseverance in it than the Love of God and the Care of Christ is this a fault Neonom You deny that God hath required as it indispensibly necessary to our Inheriting any Blessing promised to the Elect. Antinom In your sence I do and if you stand so much on those Terms I shall justly call them into question so far as is necessary in my sence by works you here chiefly understand as I take it works after Faith and Repentance are such Works indispensibly necessary to the Inheriting any Blessing promised to the Elect Is not Union with Christ Faith c. Blessings promised to the Elect What Works was done before and after the Saving Union with Christ if they were indispensibly necessary how could Infants be saved And how do they Inherit Blessings that Repent and Believe just before they go out of the World And how came the Thief upon the Cross to be Saved Neonom You judge Christ hath done all for us and enjoineth nothing for us to do in order to any good thing Antinom He hath done all in the way of Covenant Condition and doth not admit us to be Rivals or Partners with him in our best Works and how can I think that he enjoineth us nothing when I own we ought to be Holy and shall be Holy From what should it be but from Christ's Commands and Care to furnish us with Rules Principles and Strength to be Holy Doth he not work in us to will and to do Neonom Nor whether a Penitent Believer shall be saved if he die before he hath time for further Obedience Antinom Then your indispensible Necessity falls to the ground and it seems the first Law of Grace will save a Man and the second is not indispensibly necessary nay it may be a kindness to die upon the fulfilling the condition of the first Law by Faith and Repentance before he comes to run the risk of fulfilling the Condition of the second Law by persevering Works lest he lose all again I am glad I have done with your Whethers let 's come next to your Neithers for we are as wise as we were before about our Question Neonom I 'll tell you then the real difference Whether Faith and Repentance be indispensibly required that we may be Justified for the sake of Christ's Righteousness Antinom Gentlemen do but take notice how fond he is of his first Justification by Works which we dispatcht t'other day and do declare we are not Justified by Faith and Repentance in your Sence and that to be justified by Faith and Repentance as Conditionating Federal Qualifications though Merited by Christ is downright Popery whether you call such Conditions Merits or no and therefore in affirming it you assert Popish Doctrine and that will stand to though all the Divines in Town affirm it with you and if what 's done already will not be enough we 'll have t'other touch upon that Point when you please Neonom It 's whether Holiness or sincere Obedience and Perseverance are the Way to Heaven and are required of the Elect as the Conditions of their obtaining Salvation Antinom You should have told us what you mean by a Way whether the first way or second Remote or next Antecedent or Consequent Conditions what Salvation you mean whether the Salvation of Justification Sanctification or Glorification there 's as much reason good Works should qualifie us for the Salvation of Sanctification as for Justification and Glorification how comes it to pass that all Salvation is not obtained the same way If we must obtain Salvation by good Works we must do good Works before we are
for Salvation is the Genus both of Justification Sanctification and Glory And in the same kind as you make Faith and Repentance necessary to Justification so you may make your Sincerity and Perseverance You do but tire out your selves and us in an ambiguous Word in which you would not have us know your meaning but he must and cannot be mistaken in it Neonom He hath as well promised Heaven to the Godly Man as Pardon to the Believer Antinom As if a Believer were not a Godly Man and Heaven were not promised to him A Believer is a Godly Man and the Promise of all things that appertain to Life and Godliness through the Knowledge of him that hath called him to Glory and Vertue Glory and Vertue are promised to him 2 Pet. 1.3 Neonom And our Perseverance in Holiness and Obedience is as truly our way to Glory as the Scriptures can describe Antinom It 's one thing to be a way in the Covenant-state and another thing to be a way to it Salvation hath it's ways of Degrees in it Sanctification is but a degree of Glorification When we are changed into the Image of Christ it 's from Glory to Glory by the Spirit of God 2 Cor. 3.6 Neonom Nothing of these merit Heaven but he that merited Heaven hath peremptorily appointed these to bring us thither Heb. 6.10 11 12. Antinom He that merited the End hath merited the Means and the means to work in such a way as shall not rob him of the Honour of his Merits He hath not merited that we should deserve but he must have the Honour of all our Salvation The things spoken of Heb. 6.10 are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 comprehended in Salvation He spake of false-hearted Professors before now he was perswaded better things of them that to them true Salvation did belong and that through Grace that bringeth Salvation they had truth of Faith and Love to his Name which they shewed in their Love to his Saints and therefore encourageth them in the Stability of the Promises from the Truth and Justice of God that made them and that they should not fail of all in God's Order and therefore exhorts them to full Assurance of Hope that God who gave Grace will give Glory and will with-hold no good thing and therefore encourageth to persist in Faith and Hope and the true Fruits thereof from the Grace of God they had received and the stability thereof as he exhorts to the Practice of Christian Duties Heb. 13.1 2 3 4 5. and Ver. 5. For he hath said he will never leave thee nor forsake thee So that we may boldly say The Lord is my helper Is not this Salvation And that there 's Rewards in Grace it 's not denyed but they are all to Christ and his Members not upon the attaining of Conditionating Qualifications And we deny not but the Lord Jesus exhorts to Labour and Diligence and Perseverance and rebukes Slothfulness and all these are Benefits for so I call all Covenant Duties that are connext to Promises but all within the Covenant The obtaining a Covenant-state or continuance in it is not to be ascribed to them but they are to be assigned to our Salvation and to the Fulness Perpetuity and Permanency of the Covenant Neonom Christ declares in the Gospel they shall miss of Heaven and Eternally perish who are Apostates Vngodly Disobedient and Vnprofitable This is not the Doom of the Law D. W. p. 138. Antinom That 's false doth not the Spirit of God say in the Gospel The Law is made for the Lawless and Disobedient 1 Tim. 1.9 and that it dooms whatever thing is contrary to Sound Doctrine Denunciations against Sin and Sinners in the Gospel is but telling the Sence and Judgment of the Law The Gospel qua talis cannot doom any to Death it being only the offer of a Remedy those that embrace it not it leaves them as it found them it found them dead and so it leaves them and their further penalty is from the Law of being more inexcuseable for their rejecting the Remedy and saith to them How will he escape that neglects so great Salvation i. e. How will they escape that Condemnation that they are under already Neonom It 's not against every imperfect degree of Godliness but Vngodliness It 's not every defect of Obedience but Disobedience not against every neglect of Fruitfulness but such as argues a dead and barren State Antinom These are such as are under the Law and whatever the Word of God saith to them it 's the Law denouncing their Doom and by your own Doctrine they are not come into the Bounds of a Gospel-Covenant having not performed the Conditions of sincere Obedience On the other hand you own that these Dooms and Threatnings do not belong to those in Covenant tho' they have Sins and Failings and Falls yet the Gospel doth not doom them nor the Threats belong to them because the Gospel admits imperfect and sinful Obedience But the Law condemns the least Sin even in God's Children and the Gospel admits of no Sin nor approves of it but is to save us from it Neonom Art thou so unskilful in the Word as not to remember Heb. 10.38 39 If any Man draw back Is this a Threatning or not Is it not true of all Persons Do not say the Elect Believer will not fall away I think the same But yet is it the less true that even he shall perish if he fall away Antinom I wish you and I were more skilful in the Word than we are Will you have such Expressions as these to be part of the Covenant of Grace which are Sentences of Death to Hypocrites and Unbelievers Christ will send away many such at the last Day with I know you not depart from me c. Will you say that will be preaching the Gospel to them and giving them a Law of Grace No no when Christ judgeth as Judge of all the World he will judge but by one Law under which those will fall who have not obeyed the Gospel though their Punishment will be the more higthned in that they have refused the Remedy There are many things in the Scripture as Declarations of Truths of one kind or another Description of Persons Histories Miracles c. Discriminations of Persons and Things which are not to be reckoned the Essentials of the Covenant of Grace but for the Bene esse of it the Usefulness and Advantage of those to whom it doth belong If we make every Work in the Scripture spoken of to be a Condition of the Covenant of Grace we shall not tell where to find it Neonom Salvation is promised to Perseverance Rev. 2.10 2 Tim. 4.7 Antinom Perseverance is Salvation and in the Promise is an Assurance of the Connexion of all Salvation one part to another for every one that is saved is saved with all Salvation and it 's an Encouragement and Motive to the Saints to hold on their
be a Scripture Expression concerning Christ yea and of Christ under his Sufferings of Wrath and Curse for Sin for tho' God never hated his Person in the highest of his Suffering neither is it necessary any Judge passing Sentence on the worst Criminal should hate his Person yet his Father dealing with him in a judicial way by the eye and hand of Justice in this present state and standing under the Charge of Sin and thereby cloathed as it were with filthy Garments is said to be as it were abhorred of God and it s not only included in the word forsaken the Syriack word Sabactani and taken from Psal 22. where the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is used signifying dereliquit deseruit and so rendred by the LXXII and the Evangelist Abhorrere being used by Classick Authors in the sense of being averse to a state or condition Cic. Abborret ab auribus vulgi it s not agreeable to the Peoples Ear abhorrere a nuptiis to be averse to Marriage and from that aversion to turn away from it or a Person in it so God having purer Eyes than in his Justice to behold or endure Iniquity forsook and turned away as it were abhorring his Son standing under the charge of Sin in that state and condition And accordingly as Christ considered in this respect and state of Guilt and Condemnation is brought in prophetically by the Prophet speaking those words Psal 22. and are actually applied to himself by himself on the Cross Mat. 27.46 So we see in another famous Prophecy of this same state of his Suffering this word Abhor is used by our Interpreters most properly Psal 89.38 Thou hast cast off thou hast abhorred thou hast been wrath with thine Anointed The Hebrew hath it with thy Messias and the 72. hath it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 rendred abhorred Sign sprevit reprobavit aspernatus est and by the 72. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 thou hast contemned or despised 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 dereliquit absecit deseruit 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 sprevit Resâ—â—nt reprobavit aspernatus aversatus est abhoruit 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Exconduit Furere percitus And it 's observable that three such highly significant words should he here used in one Verse as expressive of the unspeakable weight of God's Wrath and Curse that lay upon him Thou hast deserted thou hast abhorred thou hast dealt in fury of wrath with thy Messiah In Dr. Abbot's Defence of the Reformed Catholick p. 428. we have the following Passages The Prophet saith The Lord did lay upon him our Iniquities the Lord would break him and make him Subject to Infirmities that we may understand that God did not only leave him to the hands of Men but himself counted him with sinners by the bearing of our sins and therefore dealt with him himself accordingly So that he had cause to cry out Thine Indignation lieth borâ— upon me and thou hast vexed me with all thy storms Lord why abhorrest thou my Soul and hidest thy Face from me thy wrathful Displeasure goeth over me and the Fear of thee hath undone me Yet as touching the Person of Christ we acknowledge that he was excepted from Sin In the Margin he qoutes Psal 89.38 applied to Christ by Athenas Interp. Psal by Arnob and Hierom. on Psal 87. As to the rest of the Mis-representations of the said Doctor which wâ—â—â— take up too much Time and Paper to rehearse I refer you to the particular Debates And as to your charging the Truths that he affirms and insists on for Error I shall mention briefly some principal ones under the next Head As to the second thing in which just Exceptions lie against your Book we have this to charge That you have not in all that is material fully and rightly stated Truths and Errors For 1. You have not rightly divided Truth from Error but confounded them one with another 2. You have condemned Truth for Error and asserted Error to be Truth 3. You have stuffed your Positions with ambiguous Words and Terms that instead of stating you have perplexed them and so that when you seem to speak one thing it 's most apparent you mean another Let me but give a few Instances of many that are more largely and particularly demonstrated in the Debates 1. According to this threefold falseness you state Truth and Error in your 1 2 3 4 5 6 Chapters in the Doctrins of Christ's bearing our Sins and Punishment for them 2. In the Doctrin of Imputation of Christ's Righteousness you plainly deny it to be any other than as to Effects which is no Imputation at all That there was no change of Person betwixt Christ and us That he suffered not in our stead That Spots remain in justified ones as they stand justified before God and therefore not perfectly justified and then imputed Righteousness must be imperfect C. 7. 3. You condemn it for an Error to say The Covenant of Grace as to us is not conditional and that Faith is not a Federal Condition of it And to say The Covenant of Grace was made between the Father and Son as the second Adam and with the Elect in him Or that this Covenant-Transaction is pleadable by us If all this be Error what Truth is there in the Scripture and the Assembly C. 8. p. 53 58. 4. You condemn this for an Error to say Christ is to be offered to the worst of sinners before they are willing to deny themselves and renounce all their Sins and Idols C. 10. p. 81. 5. You insinuate a Condemnation of all Union to Christ before an Act of Faith C. 11. p. 91. 6. You insinuate Perswasion not to belong to the Nature of Faith C. 9. p. 73. and make Faith and Repentance to justifie as qualifying Conditions C. 12. p. 102 114. 7. You insinuate a Condemnation of this great Truth asserted by our Lord Jesus Christ himself That he is the Way Truth and Life in Justification Sanctification and Glory Joh. 14.6 C. 13. p. 121. 8. The Sum of what you design in C. 14. is to condemn this great Gospel-Truth for Error that a Believer is not to work from Life but for Life p. 153. 9. You condemn all Ways of Assurance besides By-Signs and Marks found in us among which Perseverance is the greatest Here you condemn Assurance arising from the direct Act of Faith and immediate Witness of the Spirit by it self or in and by the Word C. 15 160 161. 10. You charge that great Truth to be an Error That God sees no Sin in justified ones C. 16. p. 170. And to say that Sin cannot hurt them in a way of condemnation C. 17. p. 181. And that the Afflictions of God's People are Effects of God's Vindicative-Justice and his Displeasure against their Persons C. 18. p. 150. 11. You condemn the Protestant true Acceptation and Interpretation of Phil. 3.8 9. C. 19. p. 196. 3. To these I shall name
of God as Rector Antinom If you understand Judicial in respect of the Justice of God answered by the Righteousness of Christ purchasing all good Gifts and Blessings for Sinners that deserve nothing but Wrath it may be said of Justification But if you understand Judicial in respect of any Duty Grace or Qualification that is found in us tho' wrought by the Spirit I abhor it as an abominable Position And your Saying the Wedding Garment was Faith and not the Righteousness of Christ apprehended by Faith is a wretched wresting and Abuse of Scripture turning the sweet and precious Doctrine of our Lord and Saviour against himself I shall meet with you again upon these Points more largely therefore I pass them over briefly now But in the mean time take notice that all our Protestants and particularly the Assemblies Catechism define Justification and Adoption always Acts of Free Grace Neonom If so doth he despense these blindly and promiscuously without any regard to our being Believers c. or no Whether our Faith be true or no any one would blush to affirm Antinom I would know whether if God distribute his Free Grace to poor wretched and worthless Creatures according to his Election and distinguishing Mercy doth he do it blindly because he finds no Reason in them And I pray doth God dispense the Grace of Faith blindly if he doth it without respect to Men's being Believers first So if they believe before they shall have the Gift of Faith and their Faith must be true too before they have Faith given I can ' but think you are Fricatae Frontis or you would blush at the delivery of these things Neonom With respect to what is above declared the Gospel is a Law of Faith a Law of Liberty c. And it especially insists on that Sincerity of Grace and Holiness which the Rule of the Promise makes necessary in it's Description of the Person whom it makes Partaker of it's included Benefits Antinom You do here begin to make Conclusions on your Premises but your Premises not holding Water your Conclusions will no way follow you conclude the Gospel is a Law of Faith We have briefly shewed as you have given occasion that the Gospel as such is no Law and hath not a Sanctio it 's wholly a Promise of Life and the Performance of the Promise doth not depend upon any thing a Sinner can do as a Foederal Condition I shall shew fully hereafter that there is no ground from that place Rom. 3. nor that of James 1. to conclude the Gospel to be a Law i. e. A Command of Duty for a Condition with a Sanction of Threats upon the Non-performance or Promises as Rewards upon the Performance whether the Condition be Perfect of Imperfect Obedience You make the Sincerity of Grace and Holiness to be this Condition and you call it the Rule of the Promise which you say is not the Precept neither neither is it the Promise but a Rule that is neither Precept or Promise So what your Rule is he is wise that knows And you say this Rule makes Sincerity necessary in the Discription of the Person So the Rule of the Promise describes a Person only and therefore makes him not but tells us he must be sincere before he hath any thing to do with the Promise From whence hath he this Sincerity described From Law or Gospel From God or himself If from God then by way of Grace and Gift and so through the Promise If of our selves it 's Dross They that are in the Flesh cannot please God and therefore much less perform such a Duty for which God will give the promised Benefits Neonom And the main of our Ministry consisteth in pressing Men to answer the Rule of Gospel Promises Antinom What this means is very strange when you say the use of Faith and Holiness as to Benefits is not from their Conformity to the Precept Therefore what do you press them unto when you press them to answer the Rule of the Gospel When the Conformity to the Precept doth no good I suppose in the same Sence as you say Obliquity in regard of the Precept will do no hurt But the main of our Ministry consists in Preaching Christ and bringing Sinners unto him and building them up in him Neonom And disswading Men from those things which the Gospel threatens shall hinder their Interest in all or any of their Benefits with an Aggravation of their Misery if they be final Rejecters of Grace Antinom Whatever befalls Sinners retaining their sinful state and rejecting Grace is from the Law and not from the Gospel To talk of a Gospel-Threat is a Catechresis at best and nothing else can save it from being a Bull. But what are those that will hinder a Sinner from the Benefit of being turned from Darkness to Light This I can suppose is the Non-improvement of the Grace which you take every one to have which either hinders or makes that they are not converted Neonom We call Men to be reconciled to God upon which we know God will be at Peace with them Antinom But you tell them not according to 2 Cor. 5.18 That all things are of God who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ And this is the ground of the Ministry of Reconciliation and the ground of Perswasion to Sinners to be reconciled unto God But this Portion of Scripture to the End of the Chapter you take to be hardly Canonical Neonom These things will help thy Conceptions still remembring that the Merits of Christ are the Cause of this Ordination Antinom The Councel of God is the Cause of the Ordination of Salvation Means and Order But you mean they will help to blunder and confound poor Men's Conceptions Per Nebulam per Caliginem per Somnium Non lectore tuis opus est sed Apolline libris But you would have us not to forget the Causa sine qua non of this rare Gospel Scheme You should have told us that your own corrupt Imagination was the Procatarctick Cause of this new Law Ordination Neonom His Righteousness imputed is the Cause for which we are Justified and Saved when we answer the Gospel Rule Antinom It 's ad Graecas Calendas when a poor wretched Sinner must be saved then Christ is the cause of setting up this new Law and that we should be justified thereby when we perform the imperfect Conditions thereof and that 's your answering the Gospel Rule Since Christ hath put a Barr upon the Old Law now we must set up for a Righteousness of our own to answer the Gospel-Rule by and that 's not Conformity to the Precept neither but answering the Gospel-Rule by Imperfection Is not this sad Divinity Neonom And I exclude not this Righteousness when I affirm That the Righteousness of God Phil. 3.9 principally intended the Gospel-Holiness of a Person Justified by Christ's Righteousness Both which by Faith in Christ all his Members shall be
former manner i. e. not between parties bearing a proportion to one another and therefore one bound in Duty or Relation to be subjected to the Will and Pleasure of the other Antecedently or fallen under the Breach of their Duty and Relative Obligation and so lying at his Mercy and such are the Covenants that are made between Parents and Children under Age Masters and Servants while in Service between Soveraign Princes in Actual Dominion and their Subjects Of these Covenants there are two sorts 1. A Covenant by way of Legislation or a Law Covenant And 2. A Covenant by way of Promise or free Obligation without Condition required to Entitle to the Promise the Spirit of God calls the first of these a Law and it 's properly so and the second a Covenant of Promise 6. A Law Covenant 1. Presupposeth these two things 1. Foedus minimè hic intelligitur reciprocum aut equale jus contrahendi propter partium inaequalitatem cum altera sit Deus altera homo creatura non est humani sed divini hujus foederis institutio dicitur 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Legislatio Clopenberg de Foed Vet. A Soveraign Legislative Power duly lodged in the Law-giver or else his Law Covenant is but Vsurpation 2. A Power and Ability in the Subject to perform the Conditions his Law requireth or else the said Law is Vnreasonable Vnjust and Tyrannical 2dly It implies 1. That both the Condition and Sanction be at the will and pleasure of the said Soveraign Law-giver 2. That the first and natural end of the Law is Obedience to the preceptive part which Obedience is due first by a Relative Politick or Natural Relation of the Subject to the Legislator so antecedaneous to the Law and secondarily to that particular Law Obligation 3dly Consequently to this Obedience whether it be little or more there is an Entitling to the remunerative part of the Law if any expressed or implied and by vertue of the compact is a Reward and the said Obedience though infinitely disproportionable is meritorious But in case of Transgression the Sanction by way of Penalty takes place and is called the Wages of Sin such a Covenant as this was the Covenant of Works and it 's not to be supposed that this Law Covenant was grievous to Adam having a Concreated Perfection both of Ability to perform it and an absolute Delight in the whole revealed Mind and Will of God from the highest Principle of Love to God with all his Heart and Soul neither could his Obedience be without unwavering stedfast Faith wherein when he began to stagger his Fall began 7. Adam stood under this Law Covenant as under a Covenant of Works wherein he is to be considered and the Law it self 1. He himself under these Considerations 1. As Endowed with a Personal Perfection and lying under a particular obligation to Obedience both previous to and directly by that Law with Sanction which the Soveraign Creator brought him under 2. God brought not him only as a single private Person under this Obligation only but as a publick common Person the Head of all Mankind and he was not only the Covenant Representative but the Natural Fountain the whole Nature being in his Loins and therefore that first Covenant Breach of his threw the whole Nature out of Covenant the Law charging Transgression upon the whole Humane Nature and laying it under the sentence of Death Rom. 5. Hence his Sin is justly Imputed to all his Posterity the whole World becoming guilty before God besides that a Corrupted Nature which is propagated to all his Posterity 2dly The Law it self 1. The particular Command or rather Prohibition that Adam stood under had these things in it 1. It was but a small Branch of that Moral Obedience which God expected from him and put him upon tryal by but his breaking thereof in one point made him guilty of all God shewing thereby unto him and the World that no Condition could be accepted but perfect Obedience 2. He was not required to work out unto himself any further Grace than he had freely received but to persist in that and therefore the Duty incumbent upon him was perseverance in Grace 3. The particular Obedience required of him for his probation was very easie and small next to nothing negative and but with-holding his Hand from an Apple and bore no proportion as a Condition to the Promise of Eternal Life and therefore could never have merited in respect of the Value but would have been Meritorious by reason of Law compact 3. If he had persevered it must have been by Grace as his Ability was of Grace and so it is with the Angels that stand they have nothing but what they have received and therefore they are saved by Grace in a Covenant of Works 8. The Law by reason of the Fall of Man and God's Will to restore him by a Saviour is not Vacated and Abolished but remains the same still in the commanding Part and Sanction It requires Moral Obedience of Man as God's Creature and continues to condemn Man for the first Sin and all Sins derived from it both Original and Actual in Unregenerate and Regenerate the preceptive parts of it are Rules of Obedience to Redeemed Ones and the Sanction remains even to them in Christ Jesus the Law obtaining its compleat end as to Righteousness Active and Passive in the second Adam Besides this the Law that God governs the World by and will Judge it by at the last Day the Works of Wicked Men will be Condemned and their Persons for their Works the Saints shall be also Justified by their Works because their Persons and their Works are perfect in Christ Jesus they being in him shall be found perfect before God and there is no Condemnation belonging to them nor Sin to be laid unto their Charge Of a Covenant of Promise THere is a Covenant by way of free unconditional Obligation and that is where the Principal or Supream Covenanter binds himself to the Covenantee absolutely requiring no condition to be performed by the Covenantee before his performance of the Promise and in a sence this Covenant is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 not as a Covenant with the Stones of the Field that abide uncapable Subjects of Restipulation but it supposeth the Covenanters to be such as are by the Promise made capable and willing to restipulate and perform all Duties for matter and manner that may answer the design of the Covenant consequential to the bestowing of Promise in which their Obedience is contained 2. That God hath Covenanted thus with the Creature without requiring previous Conditions to the Performance of the Promise is not to be questioned such was that made with Noah Gen. 9.11 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 LXXII 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I will i. e. alone and by my self set up and establish my Covenant with you without calling you forth to restipulate or perform Conditions and the Promise was that all Flesh
the said Foederal Conditions But we affirm neither Faith it self no not the Gift of the Spirit that works Faith not our Union to Christ no Gifts that accompany Salvation are Foederal Conditions Christ in the Exercise of his Mediator's Office in his Humiliation and Exaltation is the only Foederal Condition wherein all entitling Conditions particularly mentioned in the Gospel are lodged and treasured up and are freely by Christ bestowed on us 12. There are also Conditions of Connexion by way of Order and Dependance of things one upon another Whereas the Scripture often inculcates such Expressions as these Without Faith none can please God Without Holiness none can see God as if they had called Faith and a new Life Conditions of the Covenant when in accurate speaking and according to the nature of this Covenant on God's part they are Executions of former Promises and an Earnest of future good But if we will call these Conditions they are not so much Conditions of the Covenant as of the certainty that we are in the Covenant Wits de Foed 196. which are rationes rerum inter se and belong to Logick and they arise from all Arguments Artificial or Inartificial Prime and Ort Simple or Comparate Consentany or Dissentany and they run in a Connex Axiom when the said Conditionality is express'd As thus Si Animal est homo est rationale si figura est trigularis est trilateralis If a Creature be a Man he is a Rational Creature If a Figure have 3 Corners it hath three sides all things in the World are capable of coming under this kind of Conditionality yea the most absolute Beings As if God be the first Cause he is the Creator of all things In this Sence Creation is a condition of Salvation If a Man be saved he must be created So Election a condition if a Man be saved he must be elected but Election is not a Foederal Condition So if a Man believe he shall be saved Believing is a condition of connexion to Salvation If a Man have the Spirit of Christ he shall believe unto Salvation but neither Faith nor Union are Foederal Conditions A state in Grace is a condition to a state in Glory by way of connexion in the Promise But one is not a Foederal Condition of another but both come in in the Gift of Grace In this Sence the Covenant of Promise contains all the Conditions of Order and Dependance in the Exhibition and Performance The Hearing the Word is the Condition of Faith but hearing the Word is not a Foederal Condition So the giving the Spirit is the condition of Union to Christ and Faith Faith the condition of receiving Pardon and living in Holiness And the giving of Pardon the condition of receiving it Holiness the condition of seeing God and eternal Happiness But these kind of Conditions are not Foeâ—eral entitling to the Promise but are contained in the Promise and denote only the connexion and dependance of one promised Benefit upon another 13. Hence the Ministry of Reconciliation runs conditionally because in it the absolute Covenant is preached 1. Indefinitely to Elect and Non-elect 2. The Covenant is declared in all the Promissary and Duty-Dependances contained in it and Duty required because promised 3. We must distinguish of the Ministry of Reconciliation in respect of the Letter of it Insertae sunt novisaederis conditiones novae obedientiae legali quidam Schaemate ad normam probationis nostrae ipsius gratitudinis debitae Sic tamen alio quoque Schemate ipsa resipiscentia in peccati mortificatione bonorum operum studio promittitur tanque Dei donum quod ipse operaturus sit in nobis ut isthoc signo argumento fas sit ex quo verè resipuimus credimus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 sperate in eam quae ad nos defertur gratiam in patefactione Jesu Christi 1 Pet. 1.13 Promissionis formulae expressissimae novum foedus sancientes donatione rescipiscentiae novae obedientiae extant Jer. 32.40 Isa 52.2 1 Pet. 1.4 2 Pet. 1.3 1 Joh. 3.9 and ver 18. Clopeub dâ— foâ—d p. 516. Quicquid conditionis locum obtinere concipitur id omne vniversalitare promissionum includitur si vitam aeternam solum polliceretur Deus non deâ—sset specie aliqua dicendi rescipiscentiam fidem c. Conditiones hujus foederis esse Verum cum initium progression non intercisam continuationem consummationem denique novae vitae odem quasi â—â—lur addicat Deus in universalitte hâc promissorum nihil remanet quod totius foederis conditio censeri queat Nos hic de conditione foederis sic agimus non de aliquâ re in homine quae actuaalem fruitionem consummatae felicitatis precedere debet Witf p. 195 196. de Foeâ—ere and the Spirit of it 1 Cor. 3.6 In the Letter of it the meer external Dispensation that kills because a Sinner looks upon all these conditions of Dependance to be Foederal Conditions but the ministration of the Covenant by the Spirit in that Ministry is absolute according to the Original Contract and the fullest Discovery in its highest Freedom And therefore the Apostie tells us this Spirit giveth Life And the believing Corinthians are said to be the Epistle of Christ written and transcribed from the Original Covenant-Contract not with Ink but with the Spirit of the Living God not in Tables of Stone but in the fleshly Tables of the Heart according to that Promise of a new Heart Hence therefore we must distinguish between the Covenant of Grace it 's absolute Tenure and the Ministry of the Grace of the Coventnt which Ministry is conditionally dispensed according to the connexion and dependance of good things contained in the Promise to a mixed People Elect and Non-elect The effect of this Ministry is either to work effectually by the Spirit according to the nature of an absolute Promise and then becomes a Savour of Life or else it works only in the Letter in the conditional Nature as a Covenant of Works and then it killeth eventually and is a Savour of Death and Condemnation 14. The Covenant of Grace is to be distinguished according to its different Revelation and Dispensation under the Names of the Old and New Testament which is no Specifick Difference but only secundum adjunctae Revelationis The Absoluteness of this Covenant was abundantly revealed under the Old Testament Dispensation unto the Patriarchs and Prophets but not so clearly by the Ministry of the Worldly Sanctuary but vailed on which vailedness the faultiness of that Dispensation was charged and did consist in comparison of what was to ensue 1. It stood vailed under a Figurative Carnal Ministry and Ordinances 2. Such as were weak and insufficient as to reaching those Ends that were designed by the Grace of the Covenant Heb. 10.1 and that in respect of the main Gospel Grace in pardon of Sin and purifying the Conscience 3. In that it
to reach the End of the Covenant which I utterly deny for that would destroy it's own Nature and Use and also the Covenant of Grace it self Neonom The Question is not whether Assurance be attainable in this Life as an effect of Faith D. W. p. 74. Antinom A Perswasion of Truth and certainty thereof is Assurance and so far as I do believe there is this in the Act of Faith though a weak Faith hath Doubtings attending but not therefore commendable And there can be no Faith without some degree of Perswasion concerning the Truth of the Object You speak here of an Assurance which must be reckoned of the highest Degree of Perswasion and therefore you deal not fairly to change your Terms from Perswasion to Assurance There is a two-fold Assurance the Plerophory of Faith and an Assurance that I have true Faith which is Spiritual Sence and Argumentation from it's Nature and Effects one is by the proper direct Act of believing the other by reflex Acts of the Soul upon it self Neonom Nor whether a Sinner ought to apply yea doth personally apply the general Offers of Christ and Life by his own Compliance with the Terms of the Gospel for upon a true acceptance of a whole Christ he is mine in vertue of the Gospel-promise which God will perform in giving Christ and Life to all that accept him as he is proposed for our acceptance Antinom You are very dark and obscure in what you here speak 1. By Personal Application I understand particular Application and so it 's your Sense that a Sinner ought to make a particular Application of the general Offers of Christ and Life in the very Act of believing and so far I joyn with you and that his thus believing is his Compliance the Gospel's Work being perswading my Compliance is to be perswaded and there 's nothing else expected which you call Terms the Terms is that we put in no Terms but accepting Christ freely offered And you say he is yours in vertue of the Gospel-Promise you must intend in the vertue of the Gospel-Promise believed or else you have no right but as you had before believing an Intentional Right only if it be a claimable Right it 's in a Promise believed for whatever Right is real in the Promise none will plead any but what he believes And it is in vertue of the Promise to give Christ and Life to many that do not yet accept of him For it 's the vertue of the Promise to give Life to dead Sinners that they may actively and comfortably receive and accept him Neonom Nor whether a convinced Sinner hath a more special Regard at first of the Priestly Offices and Sufferings as what are more sensibly fitted to his guilty state Antinom I understand not what you mean by Priestly Offices as if Christ had more Priestly Offices than one Christ doth exercise his Priestly Office in the state of Humiliation and Exaltation but I have not seen any before that ascribes to Christ two Priestly Offices And if you mean Justifying Faith it 's Office is to lay hold on and apply the Person of Christ in his Priestly Office Neonom Nor whether every thing recorded in Scripture must be dwelt on with the same regard concern and assurance as the Essentials of the Covenant of Life Antinom You mean here Faith as to the general Nature of it you do not distinguish it from Faith in the Justifying Nature all along Neonom Nor whether Faith contain in it a reliance on Christ as our only Saviour and on his Satisfaction and Merits as what alone purchased our Pardon and Acceptance as well as it includes the realizing Assent to the Truth and unfeigned fiducial Consent to acceptance of a whole Christ in all his Offices All these I affirm Antinom You acknowledge then that Faith contains in it 1. A Reliance on Christ as an only Saviour How can this be without some perswasion A rational Man never rests and leans upon a thing that he hath not some ground of Perswasion that it 's strong enough to bear him 2. You own it includes a realizing Assent to the Truth and this is a very high Perswasion of a Truth with a particular Application of it to a Man's self as belonging to him 3. You say there 's an unfeigned Fiducial Consent to and Acceptance of Christ and all his Offices This is strong Confidence when the Soul is so far perswaded of the reality of the Tender of Christ made in the Promise that he doth not only take him but with boldness questions not but he hath the Son and hath Life in this very Act of Believing You say we rely on Christ's Satisfaction and Merits as what alone purchased our Pardon and Acceptance This is true in a true Sence but we easily see what you mean by what you speak before Neonom The real difference is whether the whole Essence of Saving Faith consists in an inward Perswasion or Assurance that our Sins are pardoned and Christ is ours This you affirm and I deny Yea I deny that it is at all of the Essence of Saving Faith D. W. p. 75. Antinom What I said and you charge for my Errour I stand to it and have made it appear to be Truth I said the whole Essence of Faith is the Eccho of the Heart answering the Voice of the Spirit and Word of Grace and thereby it 's the Obedience of Faith The Soul believes and closeth with Truth according to the nature of it and in such a manner as is required You wrong me to say I used the Words Perswasion or Assurance I said If you receive Truth and in reality believe it and rely upon it you may conclude that Christ is yours and this is now a Conclusion made upon my believing too I pray would you not say so to a poor Sinner If thou dost believe on the Lord Jesus with all thy Heart thou shalt be saved and you ought to conclude you shall be saved And this is a perswasion of my state upon believing Calvin Mr. Neonom It 's indeed a marvellous thing that you should say and unsay a thing in the same Breath to own Faith a reliance on Christ that it carries a realizing Assent to the Truth and an unseigned Fiducial Consent and now to say Perswasion is not at all of the Essence of Faith Neonom I said it contained and it included it I said not they were of the Essence Antinom This is just like your wonted way of Dodging How doth Faith contain and include these things As in a Box which contains and includes things of a Specifick Nature different from it self Well we will attend your Proof Neonom The second thing in difference is Whether Saving Faith includes not in it's Nature that powerful efficacious Assent to the Word and fiducial consenting to acceptance of Christ as Prophet Priest and King with a Reliance on his Merits and obediential Regards to God as the
that the Work must be pretty well over for Mortification and Vivifaction before Christ comes in before a Saving Interest in Christ may be had a Sinner must not touch him or the Preacher so much as offer Christ to teach them the Doctrine of Self-denial or to enable them through the Beauty and Excellency of his Grace and Love to renounce Idols Did you ever know any Sinner renounce Idols till he saw a ground and reason in Christ for it and felt his power in the Grace of the Gospel The Spirit saith The Blood of Christ cleanseth us from all Sin and accordingly the Promise of Christ is Ezek. 36.25 I will sprinkle clean Water upon you and you shall be clean from all your filthiness and from all your Idols will I cleanse you and you will have a vile filthy Sinner to be washed first and have his Idols removed first and exercise one of the highest Virtues in the Christian Religion to deny himself before he dare to come to Christ or before any one must offer Christ to him and if he be offered it must be upon the condition of these Gigantine performances Neonom There cannot be an Acceptance of Christ without a renouncing Sin and Idols and denying Carnal Self and our own Merits as opposite to him And on the other hands to renounce Sin and Idols and deny our selves will not avail us without an Acceptance of Christ and reliance on him Antinom This is an old Brittish way of Arguing because Acceptance of Christ is accompanied with renouncing Idols c. therefore he may not accept Christ till he hath renounced Idols and denied himself c. Because a Man hath Arms and Legs therefore a thing must have Arms and Legs before it be a Man or because a Man is Animal risibile therefore he must be Animal risibile before he is a Man and made a Man afterwards There is one and the same cause of renouncing Sin and Acceptance of Christ and Christ is held forth in the Gospel to turn Men from Darkness to Light and the power of Sathan unto God and Sinners are even the worst to be called and invited to him to come for all those Ends and Purposes for Destruction of Sin and Life of Grace and I tell you there cannot be one of these Sins mortified or Idol renounced without Faith in the Blood of Christ I say before Faith and Acceptance of Christ Neonom I mention some things as Antecedently necessary to our renouncing Sin and Idols c. Antinom This you mean Antecedently necessary to know the true God and Jesus Christ whom he hath sent Neonom I mean Knowledge Assent Conviction of Sin and Misery c. these are Preparatory Qualifications not that an Interest in Christ always follows these but they dispose the Soul to a hearty acceptance of Christ in opposition to all Rival Opposites and are necessary thereto in some degree Antinom I cannot understand your meaning unless this be it that Nature and Grace differ only gradually and that some Men do grow up out of a Natural condition by these degrees and some do fall off and not come to it first there must be Conviction of Sin and humbling and then follows Self-denial and renouncing Idols and then Christ comes in at last when he can be willing and these previous Qualifications must dispose the Soul for Christ this is Popery Neonom The declared design of the offers of Christ to Sinners is that they be thus willing to Accept of Christ and partake of an Interest in him Antinom The declared design of offering Christ is not to tell them they must thus prepare themselves before Christ is of use to them but that they come to Christ and receive of his Grace to furnish them with his Spirit and all gracious Effects and Operations It is the Spirit that convinceth of Sin and all Saving Convictions and Humiliations and Renunciation of Idols are included in Repentance and Mortification which are the Effects of the true Grace of God in the Heart whereby Faith is wrought and that Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ for Righteousness and Life purifies the Heart and produceth Repentance Love compliance with the Commands of Christ and they are not grievous You propound wrong Methods for the Curing Diseased Souls this way will not do Neonom You mistake me still I will tell you where the difference is not 1. It is not whether there is in Christ a sufficiency of Merit and Grace to save the worst of Sinners Antinom The question is whether the Grace and Merit of Christ be not efficient in the Saving the worst of Sinners Neonom 2. Nor whether Christ is offered to the worst of Sinners if they will accept him on the Terms of the Gospel Antinom But the Question is Whether the Sinner can accept of Christ on such Terms before Christ hath wrought in them to will and do and made them willing in the Day of his Power And whether they ought not to be Invited to Christ and to receive him in the Gospel Offers for the working this willingness by efficacious Grace Neonom 3. Nor whether Sinners are not often the Objects of Gods Effectual Calling in order to an Interest in Christ Antinom God's Effectual Call is an Interest in Christ and there 's no Effectual Call can be before an Interest in Christ it 's the putting the Soul in Actual Possession of Christ and the uniting it to Christ Neonom Nor whether there may not be Knowledge Assent Convictions Humblings and feigned Resolves and yet a Soul fail of an Interest in Christ for want of true Conversion tho' they are hopeful Signs Aninom But the Question is Whether you ought to make common Grace the Foederal Condition of special and tell Souls that they cannot receive Christ in a way of special Grace till they have attained common Grace out of Christ Neonom Nor whether the degrees of Convictions and Humblings are equal in all D. W. p. 84. Antinom You should have told us whether you mean saving or common if they be saving they are wrought as an Effect of Union to Christ if common and out of Christ it 's no great matter what degree they are of for there is nothing in an unregenerate Man though never so plausible that gives him a disposition to a new Heart no more than one that 's stone dead can have in himself a disposition to Life they that are in the Graves of Sin hear the voice of the Son of God and live he quickens them that are dead Privantia non habent media there 's no medium between Death and Life Neonom Nor whether Preparatory Qualifications do Merit true Grace Antinom You should have told us what Merit ex congruo or condigno if you deny the word you assert the thing For a Foederal Condition is a Merit Virtute compacti Neonom Yea or whether Faith or Repentance do Merit an Interest in Christ This I deny and say That their
whole use depends on Gods Ordination Antinom I wonder you 'l ground your denial upon such a weak Reason for would not Adam's Merits have depended on God's Ordination And doth not Christ's Merits depend on God's Ordination Neonom Nor whether a Soul may neglect to accept of Christ as Prophet Priest and King because they feel not that degree of these Humblings and Convictions which they desire and expect Antinom But being you set them a digging in the Rock of their own Hearts for the Pearl of Great Price you should tell them how deep it lyes before they are likely to find it for all these Convictions and Humblings are before they come at Christ you put them upon hard Service unless you tell them when they are convinced enough and humbled enough and why do you use the word neglect for as long as they are upon the work you assign them they wait for you to offer Christ to them and you tell them it 's better to stay longer and there 's reason for it according to your Hypothesis if some degrees of Humblings must be had to fit them for Christ then more degrees will make them more fit Neonom Nor whether these Preparatory Qualifications be the Work of the Spirit by common Grace This I affirm Antinom So then they may dig and not find the Mine and spend all their days in Common Grace and never find Spiritual Grace now here you fully declare your self that Common Grace is the Condition of Special Grace What a Work is here with Conditions Neonom Nor whether their immediate Influence I mean of Preparatory Qualifications be to prepare the Soul for a true consenting Acceptance which it is hereby less averse to and more disposed for This I affirm Antinom I know not what sence to put upon this but the Papists Congruity and that common Grace is a degree or a qualifying condition of Saving Grace and that Common and Special differ not Specifically but Gradually only which to me is gross Divinity Sancta Clara tells us thus De habitâ prima gratiâ Actuali Communis recepta Sententia Scholar est c. Certainly it is the common and received Opinion of the Schools that with the help of the first preventing Grace we may obtain further helps by acting and endeavouring yea the first habitual justifying Grace and in some measure deserve it de congruo i. e. of meetness fitness and aptitude and it 's the common Opinion of all the Doctors as to after-helps in respect of the first Grace and he faith He takes Scotus's Judgment instead of all as the best in that he saith Repentance is a meer disposition to habitual Grace And amongst such as he quotes for his Opinion he brings the 13th Article of the Church of England Artic. 13. Of Works before Justification Works done before the Grace of Christ and the Inspiration of his Spirit are not pleasant to God for as much as they spring not of Faith in Jesus Christ neither do they make Men meet to receive Grace or as the School Authors say deserve Grace of Congruity yea rather for that they are not done as God willeth or commanded them to be done we doubt not but they have the Nature of Sin which he would wrest to his sence that although Works before the Faith of Christ or the first Actual Grace are excluded as meritum ex congruo by the said Article exceptio firmat regulam in oppositum yet he saith Other Works according to the said Article done as Fruits of Faith may in some measure dispose and de congruo deserve promereri gratiam Justificationis which Opinion he would make Augustin to be of And whereas it 's said in the said Article We doubt not but they have the Nature of Sin he would palliate it thus saying Non dicunt talia simplicitèr esse peccata sed potius participare quod sine omni dubio est terminus diminuens i. e They say not that such are simply Sins but do partake of Sin which without all doubt is a Term of Diminution i. e. the word rather or else they would have said that they were Sins without Restriction You see what Jesuitical Evasions here are to establish your Qualifications which you and the Papists are so fond of whereas these first Reforming Protestants say Non disponunt hominem ad receptionem gratiae but the rather we doubt not but they have the Nature of Sin yet you will say they prepare for true Acceptance and make the Soul less averse and more disposed to it whereas the quite contrary mostly appears that those that become meerly morall and leave off the practice of some gross Sins and do some good Works from that Principle are usually the most averse and least disposed to the Grace of God of the two Neonom I shall shew you wherein the Real difference is 1. Whether coming to Christ is an inward Perswasion that Christ is mine This you affirm and I deny Antinom You abuse me in charging me with speaking what you would fasten upon me for I spake distinctly of these two things first of coming to Christ and then of knowing that Christ is mine by my being come to him but yet I say that this coming to Christ ought to be by a particular perswasion that Christ is offered to me as a Sinner freely offered to me without any consideration of any Qualification and this perswasion every Believer hath less or more Dr. Twiss distinguisheth between fides in Christum fides de Christo Faith in Christ and Faith concerning Christ being ours the first is this coming to Christ for Life the other our Perswasion and sweet Sense of the Love of God in Christ Neonom 2. Whether Christ is offered to Sinners with a design that they may conclude they have a Saving Interest in him before they are Regenerated by the Spirit and savingly Believe Antinom The Design of offering Christ to Sinners is that they may receive the offer freely and immediately and that when they are come to Christ they should know this Faith was not of themselves or did spring out of any Natural or Moral Qualification but from Christ the Author of it and from their Union to Christ Jesus which I take to be a Saving part in him and that they cannot believe without a Saving part in Jesus Christ before they believe He having blessed us with all Spiritual Blessings in Christ of which Faith is none of the least And Dr. Twiss saith Faith being one proper Effect only of a Saving Interest though not claimable by them till they believe Justitia Christi sicut Christi est c. The Righteousness of Christ as it is Christs and performed by him so it 's ours as wrought for us juris ratione and before Faith as Meritorious of Efficacious Grace for the working of that Faith Lib. 1. p. 2. § 25. For if without Christ they can do nothing then they cannot believe without part
Preparatory by way of Causation Merit and Congruity i. e. by disposing fitting and making Men the sitter for Effectual Grace as you say as asserted by the Papists and Arminians DEBATE XI Of Union with Christ before Faith Neonom ANother Errour of his is All the Elect are Actually Vnited to Christ before they have the Spirit of Christ or at all believe in him even before they are Born yea and against their will D. W. p. 90. Antinom Your Terms are all Ambiguous you seldom use a word of two or three Syllables but you 'l have him Bifrons like Janus I pray produce your proof and I shall see which way you look most Neonom The Title of a Sermon of yours is Christ ours before gracious Qualifications D. W. p. 91. Antinom I own such a Sermon from Isa 33.6 and the design of it was to answer this Query Dr. C. p. 432. How I may be assured my part lyes here That my Sins were laid on Christ The Apostle speaks of full Assurance of Faith and of coming to the Throne of Grace with boldness I shew'd that it may be found out as the Lord hath chalked it out in his Grace and Grant not only when the Lord is pleased to hold out his Grace and Grant to a Man but also upon those Terms that he holds it out on such as the Terms of God are or Conditions if you will call them so Sure I am as the Conditions are by which they may claim Interest in Christ those conditions being granted and found the Soul may close with the Grace of God now all the difficulty lyes in this whether the Lord propounds to Men that there shall be no part in Christ nor Grace by him till they find their Spirits Souls and Bodies sanctified throughout or whether the Lord holds out the Grant of Pardon of Sin without those previous Qualifications And I say D. C. p. 433. That the Grace of saying Iniquity upon Christ is applicable by Forgiveness of Sins to Persons before there be ever the least measure of Sanctification in Works and being applyed by the Lords own Grant there may be Safety and Security in applying the same by Faith without regard to Sanctification in any measure That is in respect of making Trial thereby I seeing yet no Sanctification in Works to try by it 's certain such Pardon is to be had and that the Grace of Forgiveness is applicable before Works or a Person capable of doing them as to Elect Infants and to the Dying Thief and hath the same place in every Elect Person that doth believe forgiveness is applied to him before he can exert any of the working Fruits of Faith and being applied to him by God's Grant it may be applied to himself by Believing but because you insist on nothing in this Sermon that you particularly express I say no more of it now Neonom Sure you intend only to exclude Works and not Faith D. W. p. 91. Antinom I do not exclude Works from a ground of Assurance for I own when the Conditions are granted and found i. e. the Fruits of the Spirit in the Heart the Soul may close with the Grace of God by way of Assurance but I say also there may be an Assurance of Faith without particular respect to the said Works I say not that Works evidence not but that there is an evidence besides Neonom No you tell us of dangerous Consequences that must follow on it if Persons are not united to Christ and partake not of Justification before they believe and addeth There is not I say such a thing as an uniting or knitting Power in Faith as that Faith doth or should become an Instrument to unite a Soul to Christ Dr. C. p. 616. Antinom My Discourse was from 1 John 2. 1 2. The main design of my Discourse there is to prove That Faith is the Fruit of our Vnion to Christ I shew'd that Christ himself frames and creates that very Faith in Persons that come to him D. C. p. 614. uniting them as Members first to him their Head 2. I shew'd that a Branch must have Union with the Root before it can bring forth Fruit. Christ is the Vine we the Branches Faith part of the Fruit. Communion is a Fruit of Union Faith is a Grace of Communion Suppose that the Life spoken of is not in Persons till they believe it is Dr. C. p. 615. but this That there is no Activeness of the life of Christ in the Person that is Elected his Life is in Christ and was in Christ and reserved in Christ till the time of believing for him and then doth the Elect Person become Active in Life when Christ doth give him to believe Actually But to say that this believing should give the first Being of that Life that should be in Persons is to say There is not that Life of the Elect Persons in Christ before they do believe if this be maintained that there is no Justification at all belonging to Elect Persons till they do Actually believe in Christ or Faith be the Instrument by which they are first united dangerous Consequences must needs follow 1. That in some respect there will be a bringing to Life again the Covenant of Works Do this and live viz. for Persons to do that they may live but the Covenant of Grace gives Life first and from Life comes Doing c. But the words you refer to p. 616. For they are not there nor do I find them elsewhere Neonom He denies the presence of Faith to this end he spends much time to prove that Christ is ours before we come to him and that our not coming unto him doth not import a state of disunion with Christ. D. W. p. 614. Antinom I said Let us suppose the coming in this place is spoken of believing Ye will not come to me that you might have Life it cannot follow that although there be no Life till believing therefore there can be no Union till believing I say If it possibly might be imagined that there may not be Life from Christ till believing yet it follows not that there must be believing before this Union Suppose I say that there cannot be Life before there be believing yet there must be Union before there can be Life fetched from Christ Faith being the Fruit born as aforesaid Neonom He saith You may as soon conceive that a Man is able to see whilst he hath no Head as think a Man can have Spiritual Eyes whether the Eye of Faith to behold Christ or the Eye of Mourning to lament ones Wickedness before there be Actually the Presence and Conjunction of Christ the Head to such a Body Dr. C. p. 104. Antinom I say so and will stand to it Calvin I wonder you should find fault with that Divinity or note down that Expression for an Errour you cannot suppose that there can be any living Act performed without Life as the cause of it
which Life must be our Union to Christ which according to the most Orthodox is and must be before Faith it self at least Naturâ Neonom He says We partake of the Spirit by vertue of this Vnion Calvin Yes how should Members partake of the Spirit and Life that is in the Head but by vertue of this Union and yet the Spirit unites A Branch engrafted partakes of the Spirits of the Root by vertue of an Union and the Spirits unite and knit it Neonom He saith God did not only decree to put such Qualifications into them but I say farther That God gives Actual Possession of this Christ and that Christ takes Possession of that Person before there be any Qualifications P. 618. Calvin I doubt not but Christ takes Actual Possession of us saltem naturâ before we have any holy Qualifications but as to our Actual Possession of Christ it 's better exprest that we have it by Faith although where there is Possession there is relatum correlatum Neonom The Question is not Whether God hath decreed the Vnion of the Elect Nor whether this Vnion is agreed in the Covenant of Redemption D. W. p. 92. Antinom But it is Whether the Elect have not a Union of Federal Relation in the Covenant as you call of Redemption as being a Seed in him and Covenanted with in him and he as a common Person representing them and undoubtedly is that Root or Head out of which all his Elect Seed or Members do spring Neonom Nor is it any Question whether Christ's giving us the Spirit of Grace do begin this Vnion and the Spirit given in order to Saving Operations produceth this Faith whereby the Vnion is Consummated Calvin Well well if you own so much what do you make a Controversie of this Point it seems you acknowledge the Union is begun with Christ giving his Spirit in order to Saving Operations only you say it 's consummated by our Active cleaving unto Christ by believing and he doth as good as say as much he saith There is no Activeness of this Life of Christ in the Elect till they do believe and in this sence he will say the Elect are not united viz. by Faith till they do believe as for his Notion of the Elect being in Christ before calling it hath been discours'd already and let 's not fetch things over again Antinom There is a Passive Recipiency and there is an Active Recipiency Dr. C. p. 98. there is a Passive receiving of Christ and that is so that Christ is received without any Hands but in an Active receiving of him he is not received without Hands This passive receiving of Christ is just such a receiving of him as when a froward Patient takes a purge or some bitter Physick he shuts his Teeth against it but the Physician forceth his Mouth open and pours it in down his Throat and so it works against his will by the over-ruling power of one over him Neonom For my part I like not such Similitudes and it insinuates that Men are said to receive Christ against their Wills D. W. p. 101. Dr. C. p. 612. And he said too That our first coming to Christ is as a Coach is said to come to Town when it is drawn to Town Calvin You know his meaning by those Similes and they are not to run on four Feet it 's enough they serve to illustrate that part of Truth which they are used for Mr. Antinomian means as you do as to Man's Will There 's nothing more contrary to a rebellious carnal Man than the Graee of God their Hearts are full of Enmity and Hatred to God and Truth but yet he shews you often that God gives Gifts to the Rebellious And here you see how he gives it and what he gives it may be he binds them with the cords of afflictions and opens their Eyes to see their undone condition pours into their Consciences whole Potions of the Guilt of Sin and the Laws Condemnation whereby as undone Creatures through Grace they become willing and ready to receive Christ and he becomes precious to them by the same hand of his Spirit If you should pick up odd Similes out of Sermons which it may be hath done good and God hath blessed you may expose many a good Man's Labours See holy Cranmer's and I think such were were of famous Mr. Rogers of Dedham and consider the Spirit of God allows preaching Christ to be foolishness to the World Therefore be very wary how you despise reproach or redicule in these cases lest in striking pretendedly at Men and their weakness you happen to give a slant Blow at the Spirit of God For he tells you there is such a kind of Recipiency of Christ he instanceth in Ephraim Jer. 31.18 19. And in the like Dialect Elihu speaks to Job chap. 36.8 9. If they be bound in Fetters and held in the Cords of Affliction then he sheweth them their Works and their Transgressions that they have exceeded And in the Metaphor of a Coach or Chariot the Spirit of God speaks in the Sacred Scripture and the Church saith to Christ Draw me and I shall run after thee Neonom The real difference is 1. Whether the Elect are actually united to Christ before they are born 2. Whether the Elect are united to Christ till they are effectually called and truly believe Antinom That though there be not an active Union on our Parts but by Faith so that it can't be said properly to be a Conjugal Union by mutual consent of Parties yet there is a relative Union such as between Father and Child where the Child gives not consent to this relation he is wholly passive in being brought into it God from Eternity constituted and ordained Christ and all the Elect to be as it were one Body one Lump wherein Christ is the Head and they the Members Christ the Root and they the Branches They are given to Christ John 17. To be in Christ Eph. 1. Being they are called his Seed before they are called John 10. His Seed Isa 53.11 12. Heb. 2.14 Brethren Ver. 11. He that sanctifyeth and they they that are sanctifyed are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i. e. as some add 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of Body or Lump And by vertue of this Union it is that the Obedience and Satisfaction of Christ descends particularly unto them and not to the rest of Mankind Calvin The Learned Mr. Rutherford hath as follows The Faith by which as by an Instrument we are Justified Rutherford of the Covenant P. 208. presupposeth three Unions and maketh a fourth Union It presupposeth a Natural Legal Federal Union 1. Natural That Christ and we are not only both Mankind for Christ and Pharaoh and Judas are one specie naturâ true Men but one in Brotherhood He assuming the Nature of Man with a special Eye to Abraham Heb. 2.16 i. e. to the Elect and Believers for
order thereunto Neonom The other Question in difference between us is Whether the Vse of Faith in Justification be only to manifest our Justification which we personally had before This you affirm and I deny And add That Faith justifies by receiving Christ and therein answers the Ordination of God who hath promised to justifie the Believer by application of Christ's Righteousness in this gracious effect of it upon a guilty Soul D. W. p. 105. Antinom You alter the Terms of my Expression to make for your own turn My Words were these Quest What doth Faith serve for Dr. C. p. 85. Answ It serves for the manifestation of that Justification which Christ puts upon a Person by himself alone that you by believing on him may have the Declaration and Manifestation of your Justification And I say That it is not the Condition without which we receive no benefit from Christ but rather a manifestation thereof My Words are not That the use of Faith is only a manifestation but I say Rather a manifestation of Benefits received than a condition of receiving benefits And I say it is a Declaration and Manifestation And what is the Promise in the hand of Faith but a Declaration of the Grace of God in Justification of a Sinner and thereby a manifestation of it unto the Conscience Whereby Justification comes to be in foro Conscientiae For I say Where the Condemnation of a Sinner is by the Law there the Absolution of the Sinner is by the Gospel but Condemnation of a Sinner is in Conscience by the Law therefore there his Absolution is by the Gospel and that 's by a Gospel-Sentence pronounced and believed which Sentence is God's Declaration and Faith sealing to the Truth of it applies it and is the Eccho of the said Declaration in the Soul And you say Faith justifies as receiving Christ and you say well Christ is received in the believing of the Gospel-Declaration The Declaration in the Gospel is Life by Christ See 1 John 2.25 This is the Promise that he hath promised us evrn eternal Life 1 John 5.11 And this is the record that God hath given to us eternal life and this life is in his Son and this is the witness of God which he hath testifi'd of his Son Ver. 10. He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself It should be Testimony 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 This very believing is a Testimony of the Truth of the Promise and his part in it as by the latter part of the 10th Verse appears He that believeth not makes God a Liar and as the truth of the Promise concerns himself ver 12. He that hath the Son hath Life this believing he saith is having the Son as declared in the Promise and Record that takes in the Declaration believingly And this is apprehending and applying and relying on the Promise and Christ in it both as Truth and Goodness Believing is our modus recipiendi or manner of receiving and we do believe that we may receive and apprehend him unto Justification You add and say first Faith justifies by receiving of Christ but you say it 's Application of Christ's Righteousness as to gracious Effects you mean only You do not deal above-board you are not for the application of Christ's Righteousness it self imputed to us and put on by us in believing We have noted your Error in this kind already you 'll not have Christ's Righteousness imputed to us for our Righteousness according to all the Language of the Scripture but only the Effects given us as effectual Calling Sanctification and Glorification So that the Righteousness of Christ justifies no otherwise than it sanctifies and glorifies for it doth these as Effects But I pray express your self more clearly how Faith Justifies or what part Faith hath in Justification according to your Sense without so much ambiguity Neonom The difference is not Whether Faith or any other Grace be a Jot of the meriting Righteousness for which we are justified D.W. p. 104. Antinom But it is whether Faith or any other Grace be a qualifying Condition for Justification if it be so let me alone to prove it a meriting Righteousness whether you call it so or no. Neonom Nor whether Faith or any Grace add any thing to the vaine of Christ's Merits These I deny D. W. p. 104. Antinom No wonder for you have rated Christ's Merits S. Clara dicit omnes convenire scientium de causa efficicate meritorià Justificationis efficiens est Deus meritoria Christus solum ergo controversitur de formuli De Justif Peccatoris how much their Value shall be Valeant quantum valere possunt But there are other things quasi merita at least that must give right to the Benefits procured by Christ's Merits which you call your subordinate Righteousness Neonom Yea I add that if Christ's Righteousness could be applyed for Pardon to the vilest Sinner before he believes it would justifie him but God hath declared that it shall not be applied to Vnbelievers Antinom That 's not for God hath declared the contrary that he justifies the ungodly and if Justification as God's Act be not applied to us first before we are Believers there would never be any Believers for Justification is the cause of Sanctification and not Vice versa But Justification by Faith i. e. Justification as applied by a sensible gracious Act of ours is after Sanctification and we must distinguish in Application of Righteousness between Gods Acts and ours for God must apply Grace before we can partake of it Neonom Nor whether we are Justified the same Moment as we truely believe in Christ and the Blessing is not suspended for any time longer This I affirm because God justifies us by the Promise as his Instrument and this Promise declares that he will justifie him that believes Antinom You 'll own then that we shall not stay for the Benefit if we perform the Condition God will pay ready Mony but the Qualification must be first in us by Nature But why I pray Is it not manners at least to give God the Honour of being first in this Work and say We believe in that moment we are justified 2. I find now you will not have Faith to be the Instrument of Justification but have found out another whereas you find fault with me that I will not have Faith the Instrumental Cause of Justification in its being no more than a passive receiving Instrument and you 'll have the Promise to be the Instrument declaring Justification and what can Faith do but receive this Declaration and thereby declare to the Conscience of the Sinner what the Gospel-Instrument declares Neonom Nor whether an Elect Person once justified by Christ shall be kept by Christ's Care in a justified state Antinom You do not suppose then that Justification is certainly durable in it's one Nature that it is an everlasting Righteousness but that it is loosable
fail of we lose all the Blessings of Eternal Life So that our Glorification stands upon more hazardous Terms than Eternal Life did to Adam for upon one good Work he should have entred into full Possession of Eternal Life and a Confirmation therein whereas we must stand upon the Test all our days and may lose all at last for the Works must be performed perseveringly or else no Penny for all the Paternosters Neonom Yea he must perform this sincere Obedience and do these good Works perseveringly and he appoints these as the way and means of a Believer's obtaining Salvation and several other Blessings requiring these as Indispensable Duties and Qualifications of all such as he will so save and bless and excluding all that want or neglect them or live under the Power of what 's contrary thereto viz. As Profaneness Rebellion and utter Vnfruitfulness Antinom Gentlemen you see how well Truth is stated here 1. Christ hath promised to bring to Heaven such as are Partakers of Holiness as a condition of his second new Law As if the Promise of Eternal Life were not at once the Promise of the Life of Grace and Glory 2. His way and means is a conditional qualifying means obtaining the Promise foederally 3. His means are two Sincerity and Perseverance Sincerity must not be mingled with Hypocrisie for tho other Qualifications be imperfect yet Sincerity must be perfect and must give Perfection to all the rest Foederally But a Man is not confirmed in the state of Grace nor is it secured by one two or a Hundred sincere Works His Sincerity is not a Condition to be depended upon if he persevere not if he fall into Evil Works or perform not good Works sincerely his Heart hath been Hypocritical he 's gone for the present he must begin again to be sincere and persevere but will lose his Condition and his Hope upon it so often that he is perswaded at last to leave tyring himself to get and keep sincerity and perform sincere Works that he thinks it the best way to give it over till he is going to die that he hath no more to do than the Thief upon the Cross for he reckons he can be sincere there for a spurt to help him at a dead Lift and hath nothing else to do and it will be no long work for him And thus your Doctrine comes to be the greatest Doctrine of Looseness and Prophaneness Your unperformable Foederal Conditions putting Men upon an utter despair of ever attaining to any true allowable Holiness And it seems these are undispensible Qualifications The meaning of this can be no other but a falling away from a state of Grace for if Indispensable then a Breach of these Conditions is not to be dispensed with Now I say if sincere Obedience and Perseverance be indispensible Qualifications after a Man hath begun in sincere Obedience and continued some time and then fall into Hypocrisie or some such Sin as David's which was Profaneness or some such Sin as Asa's which was Persecution and Peter's in denial of his Master These are Sins of Rebellion What must such an one conclude And what else can you now say to him but that he is fallen from the Blessing and promised Heaven He is in a state of Damnation All his former Faith and Obedience is lost What shall a Minister say to him now under the deepest Sence of Sin Saith he I am certainly damned I have fallen short of an indispensible Qualification for Heaven Nay you tell me Christ doth exclude those that have any want of Sincerity and Perseverance or such as have neglected it Neonom Say to him I 'll tell you what I would say to him Jesus Christ died to save Sinners provided they repent and believe they shall be justified and provided they practise sincere Obedience and persevere in it they shall be saved so as to go to Heaven but all your Justification signifies nothing unless you persevere in Sincerity I would say to him Go and repent and believe and persevere again in sincere Obedience and they you will see how it is but never be so presumptuous as to believe you shall be saved till you have persevered and all your Comfort of Heaven lies upon this Antinom Those that know Christ and have Experienced the Temptations of Satan and the workings of Unbelief in themselves will tell you that this is a Soul-destroying Doctrine such as drives poor Sinners off from God brings them out of Love with Christ carries them back to the Yoke of Bondage their own Righteousness and destroys them by Security or Despair at last Neonom This Antinomian is honestly zealous for the Honour of Free Grace D. W. Pref. D. W. p. 125. but you may see by his discourse that he hath not light sufficient to see how God hath provided for this in his Rectoral distribution of Benefits by a Gospel Rule come I 'll tell you wherein the difference doth not lye between us first 1. It 's not whether God hath decreed that the Elect shall be Holy and Obedient and so partake of Saving Blessings Antinom But yet he hath not so decreed it as to all the certainty but that their Salvation depends on a contingent Proposition i. e. if they believe sincerely work and persevere they shall be saved and they are to conclude nothing as to the goodness and certainty of their Estate from the Doctrine of Election Redemption and the great and precious Promises believed till they have sincerely and perseveringly obeyed and then they may when the Wruttles are upon them and Death pangs if they have their Senses but never before Neonom Nor is it a question whether every Work will fail to save a Christless Vnbeliever Antinom What mean you here one would think you mean that some Works will fail and some not fail but because I find after you affirm the question I take it thus That though a Christless Unbeliever can be saved by no Works yet he that believes in Christ is saved by some Works which is at the best very rough-hewn Divinity hardly Protestant Neonom Nor is it the differ whether Christ hath paid the price of Temporal Spiritual and Eter â—ssings Antinom Ay and to mucâ— pose if we must pay upon an after Bargain and run the Gantâ—et in a Covenant of Works and have no certainty of our Salvation but according to the payment that we make and if we fail to pay Rent duely whether we have Money or no we must be turned out of Doors indeed Friend you sit at a hard Rack-rent and you must account for all dilapidatitions too and its danger but that you 'll be turned out of all at last Neonom Nor whether the Essential Blessings of the Gospel becomes the Inheritance of a Believer as soon as he is united to Christ Antinom It seems the Circumstantials are not the Apostle mistook when he said We are blessed with all Spiritual Blessings in Christ Jesus he
Saved Do we not obtain all Salvation in Christ We are Created in Christ Jesus unto good Works but I find you 'll have nothing to be Salvation but Glorification and that must be Earn'd at our Fingers ends and we may lose all at last for all Christ if we do not look the better to it to perform sincere persevering Works till the last Breath the first Justification though by Works gives no Evidence for Heaven you 'll be sure to be far enough from the Errour as you call it of Faith Justifying Evidentially We say Christ is the Way John 14 6. and Holiness our business in that way Neonom Or whether Heaven is promised to them if they persevere in Holiness and sincere Obedience and the Loss of Heaven threatned in case they continue Wicked and Disobedient or after Grace turn Apostates Antinom Observe what Doctrine here is 1. Here his Discourse is limited to the Elect. 2. He supposes the Elect may lose Heaven 3. That their Obedience and Perseverance are the Conditions of their obtaining Salvation you take him for any Salvation for that of the first Justification which he makes to be by Works and Perseverance the obtaining condition of his Second Justification But I pray what 's the Condition of Persevering Sanctification which is Salvation too 4. He doth not only suggest but express falling away from Grace for what is that when he suggests an Elect Person may fall away from Grace turn Apostate and lose Heaven 5. He suggests that the Elect Person before Faith must perform these Works before he can be saved by Justification but this Doctrine is nothing with him this Doctrine I deny from the bottom of my Heart notwithstanding his affirming of it Is this right stating of Truth and Errour Neonom The Question is Whether the good Works of a Believer are Rewardable of Grace for Christ's sake Antinom The Question hath been clearer stated to your purpose long ago between the Papists and we Whether Christ hath Merited that we may Merit Whether you 'll call your Doctrine the Doctrine of Merit or not We 'll call a Spade a Spade and Antichrist must not creep in amongst us again with his Serpentine Tricks to beguile us as the Devil did into Paradise to Rob us of our first Righteousness Neonom Whether by the Gospel as a Rule of Judâ—ment whoever is unholy utterly disobedient altogether wilfully neglectful of good Works shall be condemned this I affirm and you deny Antinom 1. The Gospel is no Law as it hath to do with the Unbelieving Wicked World 2. It is no Rule of Judgment that 's the Law only 3. The Gospel did never condemn any Elect Person to Eternal Death neither is any Elect Person as such under a contingency of Salvation whether he be holy or unholy though as Sinners unholy and wicked Persons they are for as such they may be saved and they may not but it 's not so with the Elect as such Neonom Whether God hath promised several Blessings distinct from Eternal Life to the Exercise of several Graces and Performances of several Duties as to the Improvement of Grace c. This you deny and I affirm Antinom We ask all outward Mercies for the sake of Christ with submission to his Will we reckon them not due to us because of our Duties performed and the Connexion of Blessing as you say and Duty is but the Connexing two Blessings in the Promise upon the same Condition for Duty is a Blessing to the Saints and part of that Salvation purchased by Christ and promised in the Covenant I divide not what God hath joined together and call Duty not a Condition and Outward or Spiritual Good Things the Salvation for I look upon the Service of God to be the great Thing we are Redeemed to the Salvation bestowed on us and not the Condition of it Neonom Whether upon the acting such Graces and upright performing such Duties a Christian may not in the vertue of such Promises expect such Blessings and fear the neglect thereof as a Bar thereto This you deny and I affirm Antinom And you affirm and teach a low servile Spirit and too bold to set aside Christ out of the Promise and challenge any Mercy at the Hands of God upon the account of Duty I think the best of the Saints have always thought themselves less than the least of God's Mercies and all their Righteousness i. e. their sincere Obedience and Perseverance to be but filthy Rags but that 's false Doctrine with you as I suppose we shall hear of e're long Neonom Yet allowing that God may sometime exert his Sovereignty in giving some Blessings to a Believer not answering these Rules and he may exchange a Blessing of a lower Nature Antinom i. e. Rules of distributive Justice in rewarding him according to his Works and if God must do it he must fly to his Sovereignty for Permission to go beside this Rule and no more than in exchanging one good thing for another there 's no such Dispensation in the Covenant of Grace What if God should deny to give the Blessing workt for and give no Succedaneum Neonom Whether God is not more pleased with a Man in the Exercise of Grace and Holiness than when he neglects them and doth the contrary This I affirm Antinom Let me ask you Do you mean in a way of Benevolence or Complacency in respect of his Person or his Services And do you mean He is pleased for the Duties sake or for Christ's sake Neonom Now I shall proceed to confirm the Truth and the Points are too many to admit Enlargement and many carry that Evidence that the whole Scope of the Bible must be forgone when they are denyed Can two or three wrested Texts over-turn the constant Language of the Scriptures Antinom You should have first stated the Question in clear Terms and let it have been but one and not reserve to your self your principal Intention and give us out 20 Whethers and Neithers delivered forth in a Heap of Amphibologies which having been sufficiently demonstrated to you it signifies little for the Discovery of Truth to joyn issue with you upon such rambling Discourses as you make and it 's easier to call Scriptures brought against you wrested Texts than to prove them so Neonom And it is strange that all Religion and Humane Nature it self in a state of Tryal should be so fully struck at from a gross Conceipt that the Infinite God cannot foresee and purpose Events unless it must null his Government over reasonable Subjects and prevent his Distribution of Rewards and Punishments by a stated Rule D. W. p. 128. Antinom Here is nothing but Huff and Bounce to talk at this rate of wrested Texts overturning the Language of Scripture and Humane Nature gross Concelâ—s of God c. Now let me tell you one of the wrested Texts which in it's plain Literal Sence must overthrow your whole Scheme of Distribution of Rewards
of what shall accrue to you thereby Dr. Cr. p. 149. you are not Persons yet come to have that common Spirit and dead to the old Spirit as becomes Christians Such Believers are acted more by a Spirit of Bondage than the Spirit of Adoption The Apostle saith They that are lead by the Spirit are the Sons of God and therefore so far as they are lead by the Spirit act not mercenarily 7. But to let pass your perverting my Sence you will have me to intend Works answering the Call of God to the Unregenerate and you say to this purpose they must be encouraged by Rewards of their Works Were it not rather to charge God as you say when he shall offer them upon the account of their Duties when the Spirit of God tells us they can perform none being Spiritually dead and that which they suppose they do cannot please God Rom. 8.8 therefore cannot obtain any thing from him You say must they not strive to Believe and Repent with an Eye to Forgiveness and Escaping of Wrath I say Not with an Eye to their Works of Believing and Repentance but to the receiving of Forgiveness and Escaping Wrath. Neonom By your Scheme the Elect may be idle and the Non-â—lect do best when they despair for there 's Connection between these Benefits and these Graces and Duties Antinom I pretend not to the making Schemes of the Gospel-Mysteries calculated to carnal Reason as you do I leave that to you that pretend to be so skilful in it But in answer to what you inferr I say I preach not to Men as Elect or not Elect but unto Sinners and I call them to look for the advantage of Life and Salvation in Christ and not in their Duties But yet as I told you I call them to Duty and to the acting of it from higher and nobler Principles than you do not from such a slavish mercenary servile Spirit as you would have them to act from And I think the Doctrine of Free-Grace is no ground of Idleness or Despair but the contrary the greatest Encouragement to Service and preservative against Despair in the World unless it be to such Scheme-makers as you be who charge God with Weakness and Falsehood unless he save Sinners in a way of a Covenant of Works And there 's no such Connection between Graces and Benefits as you plead for Neonom And so the Non-elect are in the same case with Devils there being no serious offer to them nay their Case is worse than Devils for these Offers are made to them with no design but to encrease their Condemnation Nay every Sin of theirs is a Sin against the Holy Ghost i. e. Every Sin is alike that unpardonable Sin and not only that Blasphemy against the Holy Ghost Antinom This is the Arminian Plea for Universal Grace and what is this but the smoak of the Bottomless Pit I say Who art thou O Man that repliest against God You come now to prove your Charge of God for Weakness and Folly But if the Non-elect be in as bad a Case as Devils is God guilty of Weakness and Falshood A wiser Man than you did not think so when he said God made all things for himself the wicked for the day of evil Prov. 16.4 Neither was the Apostle Paul of your mind as plainly appears by Rom. 9.18 19 20. But let me return upon you Will you say that it was unrighteous with God to leave a part of Mankind under Non-election to eternal Life and Salvation What will you charge God with for leaving part of the Angelick Nature under it 2. You talk of an Offer to the Non-elect and that Offer you say must be serious and if it be not offered upon such a Condition as they can perform But I pray where 's any Offer of Grace in the Gospel to the Non-elect at all as such And shew me any Graces given or Gospel Duties required of the Non-elect or Benefits promised to the Non-elect upon their performance of Graces and Duties It would not be serious indeed to call for Graces and Duties or promise Life unto them or saving Benefits upon Performance of the said Duties after the Non-election was declared to them Now you will not own there can be any serious Offer made unless the Condition be equally performable by Elect and Non-elect and both be alike in the next Capacity of Salvation or else they are in the same case with the Devils And what it they be as eventually as unlikely to believe and be saved as the Devils why will you be presumptuous to charge God May not God have Mercy on whom he will and harden whom he will without giving an Account of any of his matters And what if the Non-elect be in as bad a case as the Devils is God bound to be any better to them than the Devils For say you God must offer to the Non-elect with the same Mind and Purpose of saving Non-elect as well as of saving the Elect or else God is not serious in his Offers I deny that Gospel-Offers are made to Elect or Non-elect but to Sinners as such and it 's made indefinitely that the Election might obtain and the rest are blinded Rom. 11.5 6 7. as it was with the Elect and Non-elect Jews so it is with the Elect and Non-elect of all Mankind And see there what God saith and that seriously At this present time saith God there is a Remnant of Jews to be saved but according to the Election of Grace What will you say but a Remnant How comes it to pass that the Offer was made to them that belonged not to the Election You 'll say God was not serious in his Offer to them when it was said Acts 3.4 Vnto you first of the Nation of the Jews God having raised up his Son Jesus sent him to bless you in turning away every one of you from his Iniquities If the Non-elect in this Nation cannot perform Works say you upon the condition of which they may have the Promise God deals falsly with them Whereas the Spirit of God gives us another Account of these things why notwithstanding this general and indefinite Offer but a Remnant was saved viz. The Election had obtained it ver 7. For saith he if it be by Grace then it is no more of Works nor of him that willeth or runneth but of God that sheweth mercy otherwise Grace is no more Grace but if it be of Works then it is no more of Grace otherwise Work is no more Works 7. What then Israel hath not obtained what he seeketh for or applying it to many Professors or others under a Gospel-Ministry such and such hath not obtained what they pretended to seek after but the Election hath obtained it The Grace of God not Works became efficacious through the Election And what became of the Non-elect You 'll say God mockt them No go you on to mock God with your carnal Reason and hearken
become most abominable as if God stood in need of something that we have To depart from Iniquity or to labour in Holiness in order to express our Thankfulness unto God for his Mercies in Jesus Christ is most grateful and most forcible Again Love unto God for all his Glorious Excellencies especially for his Mercy in Christ Jesus is the best Principle of Holiness and our departing from Iniquity and this Love is begun and flows from God's Love first He that Acts according to any of God's Commandments out of hope to Merit by them may Act out of Love indeed but it must be then Self-love to obtain as he vainly thinks by his Obedience Eternal Happiness Our Love of God should exceed Self-love as far as God himself exceeds which is Infinitely Our Love of God is a Vertue and the Foundation of the rest Our Love of our selves thus taken is a Sin a Mother Sin the cause of all the rest of our Sins c. I am mistaken if I find not this Doctrine of working for Life according to your sence exactly in the Council of Trent Decree XVI Grace proposeth to the Just the Exercise of Good Works by which Eternal Life is gained as Grace promised by the Mercy of God and a Reward due to Good Works by the Divine Promise And it concludeth This Doctrine doth not establish any Righteousness of our own refusing the Righteousness of God but the same is said to be in us and of God being infused by him for the Merit of Christ Calvin But Mr. Neonomian saith in his Reply It 's vain and false Mr. Antinomian that you say that you are only against setting Graces and Holiness in the place of Christ Antinom He that reads my Sermons must needs see the Truth of that Assertion I have nothing to say to such as only depend upon Mr. Neonomian's report Neonom He reckons they are put in Christ's place though they be affirmed but as Means and Conditions antecedently necessary by Divine Appointment to obtain any Blessing for the sake of Christ's Merits Antinom And well I may if Men must be gracious and holy antecedently to any Blessing for the sake of Christ's Merits and by vertue of that Antecedent Grace and Holiness do obtain Blessings for the sake of Christ's Merits I think you outstrip the Papists here in the Doctrine of Merit Neonom His Principles are That Faith is not so much as an Instrument whereby we are united to Christ or Justified P. 616. Antinom He speaks not there of Faith as an Instrument but he doth speak of it as such P. 597. where he saith Faith is not the Instrument Radically to unite Christ and the Soul together but rather is the Fruit that flows from Christ the Root being united before-hand by the Spirit to the Persons that do believe Neonom 2. That Christ brings us all good things when we are ungodly so it 's in vain to do any thing to obtain these P. 41. Antinom He speaks there of Justification by Faith alone without Works And we are delivered from Wrath before we step a step into Duties and we do not the Duty to be delivered but we do the Duty because we are delivered and seeing all these are settled by Christ for us of Free Gift all we do is for Christ himself I say that we do we do for Christ and not for our selves Neonom He saith Obedience is not the way to Heaven and Sanctification is not the way to a Justified Person Antinom No Sanctification is not the way of Justification he speaks of the way of Justification we are not according to his Divinity Justified by Inherent Holiness or Righteousness though we are according to yours And he tells you Sanctification is our business in Christ the Way for whatever Duty is performed acceptably must be wrought by Faith in Christ Jesus we are Sanctified in Christ Christ is the true way of Sanctification Neonom He saith He should not have the least Thought in his Heart of promoting or advancing himself or any end of his own by doing what he doth Antinom You know this thing is no new Doctrine It use to be one of the signs and marks of Truth of Grace when we Act in Duty singly for the Glory of God and not for selfish and sinister ends and designs but this is spoken to sufficiently before DEBATE XV. Of the Way to attain Assurance Neonom THE next Errour that I have to charge Mr. Antinomian with is his Doctrine of Assurance Errour Assurance is not attained by the Evidence of Scripture marks or signs of Grace or by the Spirits discovering to us that he hath wrought in our Hearts any Holy Qualifications But Assurance comes only by an Inward Voice of the Spirit saying Thy Sins are Forgiven thee and our Believing thereupon that our Sins are forgiven D. W. p. 161. Antinom What evidence do you bring of your Charge Neonom You say if you would know that the Lord hath laid your Iniquities on Christ you must know it thus 1. Is there a Voice behind thee in thy self Thy Sins are forgiven thee Dost thou see this Voice agree with the Word of Grace i. e. Dost thou see it held out to most vile and wretched Creatures as thou canst be And upon this Revelation of the Mind of the Lord by his Spirit according to that Word doth the Lord give to thee to receive that Testimony of the Spirit to sit down with it as satisfied that upon this thou makest full reckoning thou hast propriety in this particularly to thy self If thou dost receive that Testimony according to that Word here is thy Evidence thou hast thy Propriety and Portion in this Dr. Cr. p. 491. Calvin And do you Banter this Doctrine as Erroneous Stuff I would wish you to have a care it 's a tender Point Antinom I will acquaint you with a little of my foregoing Discourse Let us see what kind of evidencing believing gives it is not a Revealing Evidence Dr. Cr. p. 491. nor an Effecting Evidence these the Word and Spirit are but it is a Receiving Evidence or it is an Evidence as it doth receive that Testimony which the Spirit holds out applying it to the Heart as the Eyes receive the light and the Ears the sound and if we ask a Man how do you know such a thing he will say I saw it with my Eyes and heard it with mine Ears It is an evidence as an Officer in Court that speaks nothing of his own knowledge but produceth Records and testifieth the Authentickness of the Records The Life of Evidence is materially in the Records themselves but the Officer is an Evidence as he doth assert the Truth of such Records It is even so with Faith The Spirit of the Lord makes the Records and speaks the Records to the Heart Now Faith comes in and receives what the Spirit of the Lord hath written In brief Faith is an Evidence as it doth take Possession of
Adultery or the grossest Wickedness D. W. p. 170. Antinom Here 's many things put together in this Charge and by an undue mixture and wresting my sense and meaning he hath made it look as he pleaseth but we must hear his Proof and then I shall be the better able to make my defence Neonom Note that he speaks most of this concerning a Person as Elect tho' he uses the word Believer sometimes because he alone knows he is elect by believing D. W. p. 171. Antinom Do not you then in alledging my words make a confusion in my sense for your way is to pick up my Expressions here and there and put them together to make up that sense which you would put upon them Neonom You say tho' such persons do act Rebellion yet the loathsomness and abominableness and hatefulness of this Rebellion is laid on the back of Christ he bears the sin as well as the blame and shame c. and that 's the only reason why God can dwell with those persons that do act the thing because all the filthiness of it is transacted from them to the back of Christ. Obj. How should God know every sin the believer hath committed and yet God not remember them Ans Tho' he remember the things thou hast done yet he doth not remember them as thine for he remembers perfectly they are none of thine when he passed them over to Christ they ceased to be thine any longer D. W. p. 436 and Dr. C. p. 436. Antinom I have vindicated my self already as to those Expressions in our Debate concerning God's laying Sin on Christ but lest you should have forgot what was said I shall speak a little to it My design hath been in several Discourses and in that mentioned by you that we must have Christ before we can be holy as the Root of all gracious Qualifications and that Christ is bestowed in a way of efficacy before we have him in a way of evidence and God tells us whose Iniquities were laid on Christ even of them that were gone every one away as lost Sheep and turned to their own ways the same thing that the Apostle speaks Rom. 5.8 God recommended his love towards us in that while we were yet sinners it must be meant unbeiieving and impenitent sinners Christ died for us and he saith Ver. 10. If when we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son that must be understood of our being in a state of enmity before we come to a state of Grace this reconciliation is wrought by Jesus Christ I shall give you my Discourse as briefly as I may that you may see my meaning Faith you know is the first of all Gifts God bestows upon a Soul Dr. C. p. 334. and all other Graces they follow that Faith that Christ doth give to Men. So that if there be not a Believing there can be no Grace of Sanctification at all but while persons are departing from the living God there remains in them an evil Heart of unbelieving and yet this is true that while they are departing from the living God and straying as lost Sheep their Iniquities are laid on Christ and the true meaning of the word turn to our own ways is that Men do what they list and what is good in their own eyes and yet it is the Iniquity of these Men that have thus turned to their own ways which the Lord hath laid upon Christ From whence I lay down this Conclusion That this Grace of the Lords laying Iniquity on Christ is certainly applied unto persons even while they are departing from the living God while they are lost Sheep while they are turned every one to their own way before they have amended their ways And because this Truth is so hardly received seeming to give so much way to loosness as some calumniate I endeavour to clear it Dr. C. p. 435. and that it is a most fearful Injury unto a Man's self and a forsaking a Man's own Mercy directly for a Man to conclude that there is no Grace for me because I cannot find such and such things in me as Universal Obedience Sanctification c. and you shall plainly see where Grace is applied unto Persons and to what Condition of Men Psal 68.18 And then I open that where God is said to give his Gifts to the Rebellious and use the said Expressions which he rehearseth which amounts only to thus much in my sense that when the Grace of Redemption and the application thereof is first applied it finds us lost Creatures lost Sheep rebellious ones turning every one to his own ways which I also illustrate from Ezek. 16.7 8 9. What Qualifications can you find in blind-eyed and shackled Persons that are bound up under the Bondage of Satan Dr. C. p. 439. even dead in Trespasses What renewed Qualifications in Sanctification can you find in such Persons seeing the first Work that God works upon any Person is to open the eyes to see him and to see themselves Now Christ must be present because he is given to do this thing before it can be done If it be the Eye of Faith Christ is said to be the Author and Finisher of it if it be the the Eye of God we must all be taught of God our Saviour speaks plainly when he pointed out directly to the Jews for whom he died and became sin I came to save that which was lost it 's by the Eye of Knowledge we must be taught all of God And this is one part of God's Covenant I will remember their Sins no more What is that Covenant I will be their God and thy shall be my People and your Sins and Iniquities will I remember no more Dr. C. p. 438. This is the substance of the Covenant And Christ himself is given over to Men as much as to say In Christ I will become thy God In Christ I will remember thy Sins and Iniquities no more This is the substance of the Covenant Christ is this Covenant and Christ himself is given over to Men quasi dicat In Christ I will become thy God In Christ I will remember thy Sins and Iniquities no more this have I given in him to you But when doth the Lord pass over this to persons When they are first renewed Have persons the knowledge of God and of themselves before the Lord makes this Deed of Gift over to them Mark what follows You shall see all the Qualifications of Sanctification must not only follow Christ given but they are the very work of Christ himself after he is given I will give thee for a Covenant to open blind eyes Now altho' the end of things be first in the Intention yet it is the last in Execution If a Workman be to build an House the Work must be prepared before the House can be builded by him Calv. I think Mr. Antinomian you have said enough to vindicate yourself
he must have a new justification upon the commitment of some sins which the first did not reach 2. Whether the general Exercise of Faith and Repentance so far as to answer the Gospel-rule be a sufficient Condition for Justification from some Sins and not from all Calvin Well now Gentlemen we have danc'd pretty fairly about this Point with your Whethers let us dance back again or else we shall be giddy and the World turn round with us Neonom My Brains are more setled than so I will lead him another dance yet Mr. Antinomian come dance with me again you know little of my mind yet I will tell you the real differences 1. Whether an elect sinner be at any time a guilty person in God's esteem This you deny and I affirm I have proved it in our Debate 1 3 7 12. D. W. p. 174. Antinom This is not fair you have taken a great leap back to begin with from a Believer to an Elect Person which you say you have proved in former Debates we have answered and therefore need not harp always on one string Neonom Whether the Remains of Sin defile us This I affirm and the Doctor denies against all Protestants who prove it of Original Sin against the Papists Antinom If you understand defilement as to our Justification I say the remains of Sin do not defile us if it be understood in respect of Sanctification you 'l see Gentlemen that I shall assert Sin 's defilement of the best of our Duties so much that it makes them as Dung and yet this Neonomian is so audacious as to say this he affirms and the Doctor denies and that he goes with the Protestants when every ordinary Christian may see that he goes with the Papists in every thing and opposeth me in this point of the Saints defilement by sin Neonom Whether a justified person falling into gross Enormities is defiled thereby and contracts guilt upon himself thereby This the Doctor denies and I do affirm Antinom You have not proved one word that was said of the guilt of a justified person i. e. it 's one thing to contract guilt of Conscience and another thing to be judicially condemned Said you not but just now that God may present to a Christian's view former sins for further humblings where he doth not judicially charge sin a Believer may have guilt then upon his Conscience and not be guilty before God 2. Do you not say a Believer ought not to question his Justification but upon such causes as make him question his state and truth of Faith 3. Where is it that I say any sin doth not defile especially gross Enormities if they need the fresh applications of the Blood of Christ by Faith they do defile and defile Conscience too but the Blood of Christ reaching the Conscience in believing washeth away this guilt and defilement where your humblings and resolves will not Neonom Whether God esteems the repeated Abominations of Believers not to be their own Crimes and they not to be sinners but they are Christ's sins This the Doctor affirms and I deny Antinom Your affirmation and negation is not worth troubling ourselves about were it not to undeceive such as are deluded by you we have told you our minds already sufficiently about that we do affirm That all Sins and Abomination of every Elect Person was laid on Christ by God and accounted his Judicially and that in justification the Justified Person hath not his sins not one from the first moment of his justification imputed unto him before God whatsoever contracted guilt he may have upon his Conscience at any time by reason of relapses is but God's presenting former or present sins to his view for his humbling without judicial charging of him in the Court of Heaven Neonom Whether a justified person upon new Provocations is charged by God and ought to charge himself as guilty and defiled so as in God's appointed way to repent believe and renew his Covenant and be earnest with God for forgiveness This the Doctor denies and I affirm Antinom In part I deny it and in part I do not 1. A justified Person upon new Provocations is not charged by God as under and liable to the condemnation of the Law under Wrath and Curse 2. It 's one thing to confess guilty to the Fact and confess a Man's self under the Sentence the former ought to be but the other ought not A Man that 's a Felon may come to the Bar and confess himself guilty when he hath the Pardon in his Pocket Do we not assert that it 's our duty to confess sin repent c. but these things must flow from Faith fix'd on the pardoning Mercy of God in Christ or else all our Humblings and Resolves what do they signifie Do we not assert Faith and Repentance renewing our Covenant is exerted in God's way and not yours Neonom Whether all Sins past present and to come are actually pardoned at once This you affirm and I deny Antinom Among all these Enquiries about the state of the Question I think you are nearest to it now for now you speak plainest and I shall speak my mind as plainly that all a justified Persons sins are pardoned at once as well those that are to be committed as they that are committed already Neonom Whether God hath required new Exercises of Faith and Repentance for their actual Pardon This you deny and I affirm Antinom He requireth not new Exercises of Faith and Repentance as federal Conditions of actual Pardon it is always in and through and for the sake of Christ at first and afterward and by Faith renewed this Grace is manifested anew unto the Soul and Repentance follows thereupon as a Fruit thereof Pardon renewed to justified ones is but in taking of the present view of their sins as you say that God hath set before them he makes them to hear joy and gladness Psal 5.8 i. e. a repeated manifestation of their Pardon in believing Neonom Whether a Believer ought to be assured of the Forgiveness of his repeated Provocations just when he hath committed them and before he hath humbled himself renewed actings of Faith on Christ repeated his Covenant prayed for Pardon for Christ's sake as after he hath thus done This you affirm and I deny Antinom This that I affirm is That there is the same ground of believing Pardon in Christ to a justified one before his Confessions and Humblings as after 2. That his assurance of Pardon after these Humblings is not grounded upon them but the Promise and his free and full Justification 3. That he is to betake himself to these Humblings in Faith of the Promise of Pardon or else all the rest will leave him as they find him 4. And after you have muddied and confounded the clear Gospel as much as you can you tell us there must be a renewing our actings of Faith in Christ and praying for Pardon for Christ's sake which
of the Gospel is the Righteousness of another the Righteousness of God in him of another in another 2 Cor. 5. last Now take this for a Rule What Righteousness soever it be that justifieth a Man with God it must be perfect whether it be a Righteousness of the Law or the Gospel Again it must be his own Now that it is our own it is not meant as if the Gospel Righteousness was not ours tho' it be not our own originally yet it must be ours derivatively from Christ it is not our own being in us but it is ours by Imputation imputed or accounted to us it is not our own by Works but it is ours by Faith it is not our own of our selves but it s ours of God Neonom Hold not too much of that Doctrin you make us to be as Righteous as Christ This Doctrin of imputing the very Righteousness of Christ to us I cannot down with it 's Christ's Righteousness but it cannot become ours but in the effect Mr. R. V. But I say the Righteousness we stand upon must be perfect and it must be ours legal Righteousness is perfect if a Man fall by one Sin whether in doing or misdoing the Ladder is broken On the other side the Righteousness of Christ it is perfect if it be not perfect it cannot be Righteousness 't is made a Sinners by Imputation by Faith in Christ p. 162 163. Neonom My whole Book is to prove this Man's Doctrin to be false Mr. R. V. Come on then Mr. Reonom I will come to the Demonstration That there are but two sorts of Righteousnesses and by this Point I must drive you and every Man up into a corner for a Man must be brought to a choice of one of them and if he standeth upon one of them which is by the Law he falleth the Point will drive you to a necessity of Christ and Faith Now that there are but two will appear thus The Righteousness of the Law and the Righteousness of God are described named distinguished Rom. 10.6 7 8 9. and Chap. 11.3 Now mark in Scripture you find these Phrases and Expressions Grace free Grace Christ or Redemption of Christ the Promise or the Gospel Faith the Righteousness of God you may find all these upon one File ranked together Neonom Ay but I value one if joined with a Duty and Benefit before all those according to my Logick Mr. R. V. On the other side you shall find the Law Works our own Righteousness Debt our Wages by Debt Boasting and Glorying these make another File There 's no third all must come under one of these Files if it be one it 's the Righteousness of God by Faith of Christ if it be the other it 's the Righteousness of the Law by our own Works By this 't is plain that there are but two sorts of Righteousness And consider the two Adams were certainly but two common Roots and the foundation of two Covenants the Covenant of Works and the Covenant of Grace Neonom Stay there I deny all that Doctrin Mr. R. Vines But I 'll go on The Adams being two consequently the Covenants are two and consequently the Righteousnesses are of two sorts and no more p. 164 165 166. You confound Law and Gospel learn the difference between Law and Gospel it is of the greatest Consequence most useful to the Conscience of Man in the World to the settlement of an Estate in regard of Life and Salvation to his Soul Law promiseth Life and Salvation to the Doer upon condition of perfect and perpetual Obedience The Gospel freely promiseth Justification to every one that believeth in Christ Neonom But this believing is doing Mr. R. V. This Gospel Righteousness excludeth Works as any cause in the World by which you should be justified with God Many will be looking for good Tidings from the Law which is only brought to you as the Olive-leaf in the Mouth of the Gospel p. 167 168. Doct. These two sorts of Righteousnesses are inconsistent and opposite the one to the other not having mine own but having the Righteousness of God The Scripture is full of their Oppositions and Contrarieties for if you mark it 's said to be of the obedience of one by which we are made Righteous not the obedience of two viz. mine own and Christ's together but one directly see Rom. 5.21 And do you see every where a plain Opposition between Faith and Works the Law and Faith Works and Grace Doth there not come a But Rom. 10.5 Gal. 3.12 16. chap. 5.4 Rom. 9.31 32. See how they are opposed 1. It is excluded as Matter of our Righteousness with God for that which is the Matter of our Righteousness with God is the Obedience of Christ Now to bring your own Righteousness into this place as the Matter of your Righteousness with God is to mingle your Obedience with Christ's So it 's not the Obedience of one but the Obedience of two 2. It 's excluded as the Motive to move God if you bring your own Righteousness into this place you mingle it with free Grace Rom. 3.24 if you make it any Motive you must bring it into the place of Jesus Christ 3. It 's excluded as the Instrument which should receive the Righteousness of God if you bring it into this then you bring it into the place of Faith for Faith is only the Hand that taketh hold of the Gospel Righteousness therefore he saith the Righteousness of God which is by the Faith of Jesus Christ Now if there be no room for these three it followeth 't is thrust out a Doors pag. 171 172. Neonom Then you may thrust me and my Book both out of Doors for it hath been my Design wholly throughout my Book to establish this Righteousness of our own these three ways 1. To join it with the Righteousness of Christ in Justification under the Name of subordinate Righteousness and a Condition c. 2. To foist it into the Grace of God as a Motive under the Name of Meetness 3. To give it the same place and nature in Justification as Faith in that I make Faith to justifie as its doing and as a working Condition Mr. R. V. Out of this Description we shall take up four Points 1. They that are in Christ have Righteousness with God there 's an Emphasis in the words they that are in Christ have the Righteousness the only Righteousness c. The Papists say We have Righteousness by Works we say we have it by Imputation yet they that have this Righteousness by Imputation have it truly and they are made Righteous by it pag. 176. They have this Righteousness with God mark they have that which sets them right with God into a state of favour and acceptation that which dischargeth all Guilt and Condemnation They have that which freeth them from every Charge every Endictment every Sentence of the Law of God they have that which setteth them into Friendship and
the New Testament are so often repeated which shew Justification to be sought only in the Person of Christ John 1.12 and 3.15 16. and 6.40 47. and 14.1 54. Rom. 4.5 and 3.26 Acts 10.43 and 25.18 Rom. 3.26 A Sinner is justified by Faith not properly as it is a Quality or Action Pemble of Justific ch 11. § 2. which by its own Dignity and Merit deserves at God's Hands Remission of Sins or is by God's favourable Acceptance taken for the whole and perfect Righteousness of the Law which is otherwise required of a Sinner but only in Relation unto the Object of it the Righteousness of Christ which it embraceth and resteth upon Justification is a Gracious Act of God upon a Believer whereby for the Righteousness sake of Christ Imputed by God Nortons Eang p. 300. and applyed by Faith he doth freely discharge him from Sin and Curse and accept him as Righteous in the Righteousness of Christ and acknowledge him to have a Right unto Eternal Life Q. 73. How doth Faith justifie a Sinner in the sight of God A. Faith justifies a Sinner in the sight of God not because of those other Graces that do always accompany it Assemb Large Catech. or of good Works which are the Fruits thereof nor as if the Grace of Faith or any Act thereof were Imputed to him for Justification only as it is an Instrument by which he receiveth and applyeth Christ and his Righteousness Q. 32. What is Justification A. Justification is an Act of God's Free Grace whereby he pardoneth all our Sins Shorter Catech. and accepteth us as Righteous in his sight only for the Righteousness of Christ received by Faith alone Whom God effectually calleth he freely justifieth not by Infusing Righteousness into them but by pardoning their Sins Confess c. 11. and by accounting and accepting their Persons as Righteous not for any thing wrought in them or done by them but for Christ's sake alone not by Imputing Faith it self the Act of Believing nor any other Evangelical Obedience as their Righteousness but by Imputing the Obedience and Satisfaction of Christ unto them they receiving and resting on him and his Righteousness by Faith which Faith they have not of themselves it is the Gift of God We are accounted Righteous before God only for the Merit of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ by Faith Artic. 11. of the Church of Engl. and not for our own Merits and Deservings wherefore that we are Justified by Faith only is a most wholesom Doctrine and very full of Comfort c. The Righteousness of Christ as it 's Christ's and performed by him so it is ours as it 's Meritorious of Grace Efficacious of Faith it self that is to be wrought in us it 's ours therefore I say by way of Right because by the Decree of the Father and Purpose of the Son it 's wrought for us tho' not in our Possession as to Sense and Acknowledgment of so great a Benefit bestowed Haec enim agnitio this Acknowledgment ariseth from Faith The Righteousness of Christ is said to be Imputed to us and his Merits to be applyed by Faith not before God but in our Consciences as there is a Sense of it begotten in our Hearts by Faith and an Acknowledgment of the Saving Application from the Love of God which we taste by Faith and Spiritually perceive Justifying of us and Adopting us to be his Sons from whence ariseth Peace of Conscience Whence the Righteousness of Christ is said to be Imputed to us by Faith because it is not known but by Faith that it is Imputed to us by God and then at length we are said to be Justified by that kind of Justification and Absolution from our Sins which begets or produceth peace of Conscience Dr. Twiss C. 1. p. 2. de Elect. He speaks of Justification in a double Acceptation 1. As the Righteousness of Christ is applyed to us before Faith and Repentance by reason of which Righteousness we obtain Efficacious Grace to believe in Christ and Repent 2. He understands Justification to be that Notification that is by Faith made to our Consciences or in the Court of Conscience and this is saith he that Imputation of Christ's Righteousness Remission of Sin Justification and Absolution which follows Faith There 's none of us saith he say that wicked vitious Person allowing themselves to live in their Sins are bound to believe Christ dyed for them for my part I think otherwise that whilst all are commanded to believe in Christ they are not bid presently to believe that Christ dyed for them but rather to rest themselves upon Christ by Faith to renounce themselves and their own Works and cast themselves down at the Feet of Mercy this is only properly called Faith on Christ fides in Christum the other is only Faith concerning Christ Hence Mr. Norton hath these words Orthod p. 315. These are both Truths 1. Justification hath a Being before the Elect do believe 2. That the Elect are not Justified before they do believe Justification is the Object Faith is the Act or being actually Justified is an Effect Faith is the Instrumental Cause the Cause is before the Effect Maccovius Disput XVI distinguishes Justification into Active and Passive Active Justification signifies God's Absolution of a Guilty Person from Guilt for the sake of Christ's Satisfaction and accounting him Righteous for his Righteousness Imputed The Differences between this and Passive Justification by Faith are 1. This is one undivided Act of God Absolution by Faith is repeated 2. Active precedes Faith Passive follows c. A Digression concerning the Necessity of Repentance to Forgiveness Neonom GEntlemen if you please for a Diversion after this Arduous Attempt that I have made to bring in the true Doctrine of the Catholick Church let us make a little digression for our Recreation and treat upon a Point that hath not so much difficulty in it for having got in Faith to justifie as a qualifying Act I doubt not now but to pleasure some of its Relations and find them a place in Justification too Antinom Stay not so hasty I do not find you have yet attained your End about Faith festina lentè cry not Victoria yet but however Gentlemen seeing he is for a digression let him have it for he hath been in digression from Truth all along I know not how he can digress from the way he hath been in hitherto but by coming into Truth Neonom You judging we are justified before we do believe it 's no wonder if you tell us We are forgiven before we confess Sin p. 255. and repent and therefore I would enquire of the necessity of Repentance to Forgiveness D. W. p. 113. Antinom As a Qualifying Condition Gentlemen this is no digression for it 's the Right Line and Method that Bellarmine and all the Papists have taken in handling the Doctrine of Justification first to bring in Faith to justifie as
a Work and then to bring in other Graces and Duties in the like manner only Faith shall have the honour to lead the way Whosoever saith That a Man is justified only by Faith and that nothing else is required to our Justification Trident. Conc. § 6. Chap. 2. let him be Accursed Faith is not the only cause of our Justification but there are others also as Hope Charity Alms-deeds c. Bellarm. de Justific ib. c. 13. c. 16. The Apostle excludeth not all Works for then Faith it self should be excluded from Justification because it is a Work and if justifying Faith do except every Law then the Law of Faith also should be excepted Looky you see Bellarmine hath got your Remedial Law by the End I thought I should find indeed all your Doctrine in the Original Neonom But he doth not speak fully to the case in hand Antinom But he shall speak fully to your Mind For He adds further Such Works therefore only are excluded which go before Faith which are done only by the Knowledge of the VVord Chap. 19. and by the Power of Free-will without Grace not such Works as are of Faith and proceed of Grace But all I fear is that you may not allow us so much as Bellarmine you will have some Qualifying Condition before Faith to Justifie us whereas he doth in a measure exclude all Works before Faith and he calls not that a Merit in plain English though it 's so in some Countreys I cannot tell how your Language expresseth it Neonom You 're a Pragmatick my Business in this Digression is with Men of more Orthodox Principles who yet seem too doubtful in this Point I shall state the Point between these Calvin Then Sir I find the Province will fall upon me wholly to discuss this Point with you unless the Board will be pleased to appoint an Abler Person Board No Sir by no means Neonom I shall state the Point then and shew you wherein the difference is not Calvin I pray Sir be briefer in stating Points for I find you bring your Adversary out of Breath in stating of Points and when you have stated them no body can tell but by Conjecture where you are in this way of stating Points you may run over the Enclycopeidia Artium in telling us where the Point is not for it can be but in one place Neonom But you must look where a thing is not as well a where it is before you find it I 'll tell you It is not 1. Whether Faith or Repentance be any part of the Meriting Righteousness for which we are Justified Antinom True Bellarmine will not allow Faith and Repentance to be any part of Christ's Righteousness for which we are Justified but only a Meriting Righteousness by which we are Justified .. Neonom I told you Gentlemen I would have nothing to do with this Heterodox Fellow Calvin It is a strange thing Mr. Antinomian that you cannot leave this business to me Antinom I am willing to give you ease that you may keep your Lungs till he comes to the Question for he will tire you before you come at it Neonom Nor is the Question Whether the Habits of Faith and Repentance be wrought at the same time in the Regenerating Principle D. W. p. 113. Antinom You mean you will not discuss this Point and therefore tell us not whether you affirm it or deny it and what you mean by the Regenerating Principle is very doubtful whether a Principle within us or without us Whether a Principle by Nature or by Grace It 's a new term to say We are Regenerated by a Principle it must be sure some Principle in our Nature that Regeneration must spring from Neonom Nor whether Convictions of a lost Estate and some degree of Humblings and Sorrow are necessary to drive a Soul to Christ Antinom The Law is a School-master to bring Men to Christ to cast them into a desperate condition that a Saviour may be acceptable to them that 's Christ's end but it 's no Federal Condition of Justification by Christ nor the Effects of it being the Condemnation of a Sinner which Condemnation and Sin it self are alike Conditions Causae sine quâ non that 's none at all in the sence of Logicians Convictions Humblings Sorrow for Sin before Regeneration and Justification are splendida peccata you have subscribed the Doctrinal Articles and Bellarmine excludes such Works which are before Faith done by the Knowledge of the Law and the Power of Free-will Neonom Nor whether there be an Assenting Act of Faith before there be an Exercise of Repentance under the Power of the Word which must be believed in some degree before it operate such Effects Antinom You should have put in this Question and said Nor whether there should be hearing of the Word before there is Repentance under it and you should tell what Faith you mean whether Historical or common Credulity or Saving Faith c. And whether you do not mean that Natural Men do grow up from a Regenerating Principle under the Word into Saving Grace by degrees Neonom Nor whether Ingenuous Sorrow for Sin in the sense of Actual Pardon be after that Pardon Antinom That need not be brought in to prevent our mistaking of the Question for none that hath any Brains can blunder so as to think a Man can be sorry for Sin in the sence of Actual Pardon before it is it must be after that this whether is next a-kin to a Bull. Neonom Nor whether Repentance as it consists in Fruits meet for it as External Reformation a Fruitful Life and the like must follow Pardon it being against the Tenour of the Promise that Forgiveness should be suspended so long after a Man believes and repents in his Heart Antinom You had better have put the Whether thus Whether Pardon is not to come in between Repentance and its Fruits Or whether Repentance with Fruits appearing or Repentance without Fruits appearing be the condition of Pardon and to what degrees of growth Repentance ought to arise before a Man is qualified for Pardon and how long in an ordinary way a truely Repenting Sinner must expect to continue unjustified And what time is limited in the Tenour of the Promise for suspension of Forgiveness after Faith and Repentance For there 's some time it seems with you that Forgiveness is suspended after Faith and Repentance Neonom Nor whether Justification be equally ascribed to Faith and Repentance For we are said to be Justified by Faith which imports that Repentance is but a disposing Condition and Faith a receiving Condition Repentance without Faith is unavailable as Faith without Repentance is impossible Faith seems to compleat all and in a manner to comprehend all These things the Orthodox Divines are agreed on Antinom That is Orthodox Neonomians of which none are Orthodox in these Points But Mr. Calvinist now he begins to bear up towards the Question I